THE 


MERRIMACK  RIVER-, 


SOURCE  AND   ITS   TRIBUTARIES. 


EMBRACING 


A  HISTORY  OF  MANUFACTURES,  AND  OF  THE  TOWNS  ALONG  ITS  COURSE; 
THEIR  GEOGRAPHY,  TOPOGRAPHY,    AND   PRODUCTS,  WITH  A  DE- 
SCRIPTION OF  THE  MAGNIFICENT  NATURAL  SCENERY 
ABOUT  ITS  UPPER  WATERS. 


J.   W.    MEADER. 
ii 


BOSTON : 

PUBLISHED  BY  B.  B.  EUSSELL,  55  CORNHILL. 
1871. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1869,  by 

J.  W.  MEADER, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  District  of  Massachusetts, 


r>.  w.  SMITH, 

t 

A  SON  OF  THE  HEBRIHACK  YALLKY,   AND, 

• 

TBROUOH    MANT    TEAKS, 

A.   True   and    Faithful   Friend, 

THIS   -VOLUME: 
Is   £fftcti0nattla 


PREFACE. 


NEW  HAMPSHIRE  and  Massachusetts  naturally  entertain  a  com- 
mendable and  worthy  pride  in  the  joint  possession  of  the  magnificent 
Merrimack  River,  and  properly  appreciate  the  wonderful  beauty  of 
its  scenery,  its  stupendous  hydraulic  power,  and  its  incalculable  val- 
ue, and  importance,  not  alone  to  these  two  States,  but  to  all  New 
England,  the  nation,  and  to  the  world.  As  a  great  natural  feature  the 
Merrimack,  it  is  believed,  surpasses  all  others  in  the  harmonious 
blending  of  the  useful  and  the  beautiful,  and  the  facts  assembled  on 
these  pages  are  confidently  expected  to  warrant  and  justify  this  view. 
The  source  of  the  Merrimack  being  more  than  six  thousand  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  sea,  —  much  higher  than  that  of  the  Connecticut,  while 
it  is  only  half  the  length  of  the  latter  stream,  — -  it  is,  from  its  source 
to  its  mouth,  literally,  a  vast  system  of  mill-privileges  with  excellent 
water-power,  material  and  conveniences  for  dams,  and  an  ample  and  un- 
failing supply  of  water.  The  amount  of  manufacturing  along  this 
stream  is  not  equalled  by  that  of  any  other  river  in  the  world,  while 
even  yet  many  of  it's  best  mill-sites  are  unimproved.  Having  been 
for  many  years  familiar  with  all  the  territory  which  supplies  the  Mer- 
rimack and  its  branches,  it  has  been  a  matter  of  surprise  that  some 
competent  person  has  not,  long  since,  given  the  subject  the  attention 
it  merits.  It  was  not,  however,  until  eminent  oculists  prescribed 
open-air  exercise  for  a  malady  more  frightful,  inconvenient,  and  un- 
comfortable than  painful,  when  the  atmospheric  purity  of  this  region 
suggested  it  as  a  proper  resort,  that  the  idea  occurred  to  collect  some 
facts  and  place  them  before  the  public  myself.  Accordingly,  without 
experience  or  pretension,  the  result  is  here  presented ;  and  while  it 
is  believed  some  of  the  matter  is  new,  it  is  hoped  much  of  it  will 
prove  interesting,  and  aid  in  extending  a  more  thorough  knowledge 
of  this  important  subject.  No  literary  merit  is  claimed,  and  what- 
ever is  open  to  criticism  the  author  trusts  may  be  kindly  considered. 
Accuracy,  both  in  the  aggregate  and  detail,  has  been  sought,  and,  if 
not  always  attained,  may  be  attributed  to  erroneous  but  conscien- 
tious deductions,  or  to  incorrect  information.  The  hydraulic  ca- 

v 


71  PREFACE. 

pacity  of  the  Merrimack  is  only  fully  known  to  the  most  experienced 
practical  engineers,  and  though  its  source  is  theoretically  known  to 
many,  very  few,  through  the  great  wild  valley  of  the  upper  waters, 
have  penetrated  to  it  and  inspected  it  personally.  Indeed,  the  num- 
ber is  so  limited  as  to  be,  probably,  more  than  told  on  the  digits. 
The  great  aorta  and  its  branches  have  been  traversed,  and  all  its  sec- 
tions of  especial  interest  received  personal  inspection ;  still  it  is  to 
be  regretted  that  many  letters  have  failed  to  produce  a  response, 
which  militates,  to  some  extent,  against  individuals  and  interests  -as 
well  as  the  completeness  of  the  work. 

Historical  and  geographical  sketches  have  been  made  (the  latter 
principally  from  personal  observation)  of  towns  on  the  river  and  its 
tributaries,  not,  however,  as  complete  as  could  be  desired.  Biogra- 
phy has  been  only  incidentally  and  briefly  essayed  ;  in  all  cases  with- 
out prejudice,  in  the  light  of  facts  and  the  spirit  of  truth. 

The  design  and  object  of  this  work  have  been  to  give  a  more  partic- 
ular account  and  description  of  the  Merrimack  River  and  its  branches, 
together  with  the  territory  drained,  of  its  capacity  for  manufacturing 
and  mechanical  uses,  the  history,  geography  and  topography,  with 
something  of  its  matchless  and  unequalled  natural  scenery.  It  is 
true  the  sketch  of  the  route  from  Lake  Winnipesaukee  to  Mount 
Washington  is  not  strictly  a  legitimate  portion  of  the  section  under 
consideration,  but  it  is  uniformly  traversed  by  all  tourists  through 
the  valley  of  the  Merrimack,  —  therefore  ignoring  it,  would  be  like 
omitting  the  principal  character  of  a  play. 

The  different  kinds  of  game  which  abound  in  the  great  forests 
bordering  the  upper  waters  of  the  Merrimack  and  its  northern  afflu- 
ents, the  varieties  of  fish  worthy  the  angler's  consideration,  the 
various  as  well  as  best  methods  of  taking  them,  have  received  consid- 
erable attention.  This  feature,  it  is  thought,  may  be  of  marked  and 
especial  interest  to  a  multitude  of  gentlemen,  experts,  amateurs,  and 
tyros,  who  yearly  resort  to  this  region  to  enjoy  the  scenery  and 
indulge  in  field  sports. 

To  those  at  home  or  abroad  who  retain  a  natural  and  creditable 
State  pride  ;  to  those  who  have  a  present  and  prospective  pecuniary 
interest ;  to  that  numerous  and  valuable  class  who  have  contributed 
most  to  the  immense  business  upon  the  Merrimack,  mechanics,  arti- 
pans,  and  operatives ;  to  all  who  would  know  the  beauties  and  the 
resources  of  the  territory  of  this  marvellous  and  most  resplendent 
stream,  this  volume  is  offered,  with  the  earnest  desire  that  it  may  be 
of  some  value  and  aid  to  them  in  the  effort  to  obtain  such  infor- 
mation. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAOI 

New  Hampshire.  —  Voyage  of  Columbus.  —  The  Cabots.  —  Capt.  John  Smith.  —  Pierre 
du  Guast.  —  De  Champlain.  —  Discovery  of  the  Merrimack.  —  Mason  and  Gorges. 
—  Laconia.  —  The  first  Settlement  of  New  Hampshire.  —  Wheelwright.  —  The  Puri- 
tans. —  Witchcraft.  —  Rapid  Settlement  of  New  Hampshire 9 


CHAPTER  H. 

The  Pemigewasset.  —  Mountains  in  Summer.  —  In  Winter.  — Source  of  the  Merrimack. 
—  Method  of  taking  Salmon  and  Trout.  — Franconia  Notch. — Echo  Lake.  —  The 
Flume. —  The  "Old  Man  of  the  Mountain"  .  .  40 


CHAPTER  III. 

Franconia.  —  Lincoln.  —  Woodstock.  —  Thornton.  —  Game  and  Gunning.  —  Campton. 
—  Holderness.  —  Samuel  Livermore.  —  Plymouth.  —  Rumney.  —  Wentwortb.  — 
The  Moosilaukes.  —  Bridgewater.  —  Squam  Lakes  and  River.  —  New  Hampton.  — 
Bristol.  —  Newfound  Lake  and  River.  —  Hill.  —  Smith's  River.  —  Orange.  —  An- 
dover.  —  Salisbury.  —  Daniel  Webster.  —  Kearsarge.  —  Bosoawen.  —  Franklin  .  .  65 


CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Forks.  —  Winnipesaukee  Lake  and  River.  —  Pickerel  Fishing.  —  The  Wiers.  — 
Laconia.  —  Capt.  Lovewell.  —  Centre  Harbor.  —  Moultonborough.  —  Red  Hill.  — 
Sandwich  .  98 


CHAPTER  V. 

Tamworth.  —  Quakers.  —  Albany.  —  Chocorua.  —  Madison.  —  Mines.  —  Conway.  — 
The  Notch.  —  The  Willey  Family.  —White  Mountain  Railroad 121 


CHAPTER   VI. 

Gilford.  —  Alton.  —  Wolfboro'.  —  Tuftonborough.  —  Meredith.  —  Sanbornton.  — 
Northfield.  —  Canterbury.  —  Shakers.  —  Pembroke.  — Suncook  River.  — Gilman- 
ton.  —  Barnstead.  —  Pittsfield.  —  Epsom.  —  Allenstown.  —  Contoocook  River.  — 
Hillsboro'.  —  Gov.  Pierce.  —  Hennikor.  —  Washington,  etc.  —  Hopkiiiton  .  .  .  147 


VIII  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Concord.  — The  Ponnacooks.  —  First  Settlement.  —  State  Institutions.  —  Ex-President 
Pierce. — Isaac  Hill. — Count  Rumford.  —  Bow. — Hooksett 161 


CHAPTER 

Amoskeag  Falls. — Indians.  —  Fisheries. — Manchester.  —  History  of  its  Manufac- 
tures. —  The  Starks.  —  City  Institutions.  —  Samuel  Blodgett 185 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Cohas  River.  —  Massabesic.  —  Londonderry.  —  Scotch-Irish  Settlement.  —  Distin- 
guished Men.  —  Derry.  —  Piscataquog  River.  —  Francestown.  —  Weare.  —  Gofis- 
town.  —  Bedford.  —  Souhegan  River  and  Towns  along  its  Course.  —  Litchfield.  — 
Reed's  Island.  — Hudson.  —  Nashua  River  and  the  Towns  watered  by  it.  —  Dun- 
stable.  —  The  Pequauket  War.  —  Nashua.  —  Tyngsboro'.  —  Chelmsford.  —  Stony 
Brook.  —  Dracut.  —  Beaver  River. — John  Nesmith 217 


CHAPTER  X. 

Pawtucket  Falls. — Indians. — Canada.  —  Lowell.  —  History  of  Manufactures  on  the 
Merrimaok.  —  The  Concord  River.  —  Its  History.  —  History  of  its  Manufactures  .  242 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Pentucket  Navigation  Company.  —  Nicholas  G.  Norcross.  —  Andover.  —  Methuen.  — 
The  Spicket.  —  Lawrence.  —  History  of  its  Manufactures.  —  Bradford.  —  Little 
River.  —  Haverhill.  —  The  Pow-Pow.  —  Amesbury.  —  History  of  its  Manufactures. 
—  Newbury.  — Salisbury.  — Newburyport.  — Plum  Island.  —  Seabrook.  —  Conclu- 
sion 284 


THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES. 


CHAPTER    I. 

New  Hampshire.  —  Voyage  of  Columbus.  —  The  Cabots.  —  Capt.  John  Smith.  —  Pierre  du 
Guast.  —  De  Champlain.  —  Discovery  of  the  Merrimack.  —  Mason  and  Gorges.  —  La- 
conia.  —  The  First  Settlement  of  New  Hampshire.  —  Wheelwright.  —  The  Puritans. 
—  Witchcraft.  —  Rapid  Settlement  of  New  Hampshire. 

THE  State  of  New  Hampshire,  limited  in  territorial  dimensions 
to  a  mere  patch  or  speck  on  the  map  of  the  continent,  with  a  climate 
rigorous  and  inhospitable,  a  rugged,  sterile,  and  comparatively  un- 
productive soil,  possesses,  notwithstanding,  these  physical  disabili- 
ties, and  many  others,  a  rare  combination  of  those  necessary  and 
peculiar  elements  which  alone  secure  a  nation's  greatness,  and  ex- 
hibit a  community  intelligent,  prosperous,  and  happy. 

The  history  of  New  Hampshire  extends  over  a  period  of  more 
than  two  centuries,  and  though  it  embraces  a  broad  and  varied  rec- 
ord, it  is  still  replete  with  patriotic  works  and  fearless  daring,  and 
noble  achievements.  Planted  in  a  wilderness,  in  the  very  midst  of 
wild  and  ferocious  beasts,  and  still  more'  intractable,  implacable,  and 
savage  men,  her  colonists  had  no  other  alternative  but  to  push  or  be 
pushed.  With  them  it  was  to  be  a  great  success  or  a  great  failure. 
With  such  men  as  the  indomitable  pioneers  of  New  Hampshire,  — 
men,  who  in  company  with  the  early  navigators,  had  led  the  van 
along  the  trackless  and  hitherto  unknown  seas,  or  bared  their 
breasts  to  the  pitiless  pelting  of  the  lead  and  iron  hail  of  inter- 
necine strife ;  or,  better  still,  had  wrung  from  mother  earth  a  sus- 
tenance, and  a  tribute  to  their  industry  and  skill  with  the  plough, 
the  spade,  and  the  sickle,  —  with  such  men  as  these  there  could  be 

2  9 


10  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

no  such  word  as  fail;  the  result  was  inevitable,  and  with  broad 
ihoulders,  strong  arms,  stout  hearts,  and  masculine  intellects,  they 
have  left  a  record  to  which  their  State,  their  country,  and  their  race 
may  point  with  just  and  worthy  pride. 

To  err  is  human ;  therefore  perfection  in  any  direction  may  not 
be  claimed ;  still  the  bright  galaxy  of  names  which  adorn  and  em- 
bellish each  era  of  her  history  most  clearly  proves  that  her  boast, 
her  pride,  or  her  claim  is  certainly,  to  say  the  least,  well  founded. 

Although,  as  it  has  been  observed,  the  State  is  one  of  the  smallest 
in  territory,  in  resources,  and  in  natural  advantages,  still  it  is 
claimed  that  she  is  unsurpassed,  perhaps  unequalled,  by  any  of  her 
sister  states,  —  always  excepting  the  Old  Dominion,  the  mother  of 
states  and  of  statesmen,  —  in  the  number  and  character  of  her  illus- 
trious men.  Her  statesmen  have  been  conspicuous ;  her  jurists 
learned,  pure,  dignified,  and  famous ;  her  soldiers  among  the  bravest 
and  foremost  captains  of  every  age;  her  mechanics  displaying  a 
versatility  and  skill  unsurpassed ;  the  sturdy,  undaunted,  and  perse- 
vering tiller  of  the  soil,  by  his  genius,  industry,  and  judgment,  wrench- 
ing a  reputation  as  enduring  as  the  granite  base  of  the  land  he 
cultivates.  Even  the  women  have  displayed  in  a  marked  manner  those 
ennobling  traits  which  recognize  them  as  fit  companions  and  educators 
of  such  a  race  of  men.  The  noble-hearted  mothers,  wives,  sisters, 
and  daughters,  affectionate,  unselfish,  devoted,  and  self-sacrificing, 
softened  down  the  rough  angles  so  indigenous  to  the  isolated  pioneers, 
especially  such  as  the  settlers  of  New  Hampshire,  who  confronted  a 
primeval  wilderness  filled  with  wild  beasts  and  untamed  savages,  and 
had  at  the  same  time  a  covetous  and  encroaching  neighbor  in  Massa- 
chusetts, constantly  putting,  forward  unfounded  claims  to  the  terri- 
tory to  impose  taxation  and  entire  jurisdiction ;  and  although  these 
claims,  unjust  and  arrogant,  were  successfully  resisted,  still  they 
served  to  stir  up  and  keep  alive  an  unnecessary  and  annoying  irrita- 
tion, and  bred  in  the  minds  of  the  weak  colonists  a  natural  and  not 
unavailing  determination  to  realize,  cost  what  it  would,  those  inde- 
scribable emotions  that  come  of  independence,  which  they  felt  they 
were  entitled  to,  and  were  determined  to  achieve. 

Actuated  by  a  spirit  and  resolution  which  showed  what  manner  of 
men  they  were,  they  pushed  forward  without  any  deflection,  encoun- 
tering and  overcoming  obstacles  of  such  magnitude  as  would  seem  to 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS   TRIBUTARIES.  11 

appall  the  stoutest  heart,  determined,  regardless  of  expense,  in  trials, 
privations,  and  hardships,  to  provide  a  sustenance,  establish  a  home, 
and  erect  a  sovereign  State.  What  these  self-reliant  and  indepen- 
dent Scotch- Irish,  and  English,  and  their  descendants  have  achieved, 
history  and  geography  fully  explain,  for  they  have  left  their  impress 
on  every  page  of  the  one  and  every  parallel  of  the  other. 

It  has  been  said  in  contempt  or  derision  by  some  thoughtless, 
envious,  or  malicious  person,  that  New  Hampshire  was  a  good  State 
to  emigrate  from.  This  would-be  aspersion  is  rather  a  credit  than 
otherwise,  as  it  simply  signifies  that  the  starving  Josephs  of  other 
States  less  productive  may  confidently  journey  hither  for  a  generous 
supply  of  wholesome  intellectual  food.  When  a  native  of  good  ability 
and  intelligence,  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  the  State, 
emigrates,  carrying  with  him  and  adhering  to  those  sound  principles 
which  his  State  and  his  education  have  endowed  him  with,  he  will  gen- 
erally, in  any  sphere  of  life,  ultimately  achieve  success,  and  in  as  far 
as  deserved  fame  and  prosperity  attend  them,  they  will,  of  course, 
reflect  honor  and  credit  on  the  mother  State. 

This  as  a  rule  is  proved  and  demonstrated  by  the  slur  referred  to. 
Taking  an  observation  across  the  continent,  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
leading  men  of  many  States,  men  of  mark  and  of  note,  justly  claim 
New  Hampshire  as  their  fatherland.  Statesmen,  lawgivers,  orators, 
journalists,  merchants,  conspicuous  and  successful,  are  seen  on  every 
hand,  an  ornament  and  a  blessing  to  the  community  of  their  adop- 
tion, and  a  source  of  pride  to  those  who  have  furnished  a  member  who 
is  equally  as  necessary  to  them  as  ornamental. 

Scarcely  a  town  in  the  State  but  boasts  of  some  famous  native  who 
now  occupies  an  exalted  position  in  another  State.  Not  unfrequently 
many  of  these  wandering  sons,  when  the  care  and  labor  of  the  busy 
outside  world  will  allow,  revisit  their  early  homes  to  renew  and 
refresh  their  thirsty  spirits,  and  drink  in  the  old  familiar  scenes  of 
childhood,  and  live  over  again  for  a  brief  period  those  old  affections 
of  by-gone  times ;  cooling  the  heated  brain  and  relaxing  the  over- 
wrought nerves  in  the  quiet  retreat,  fanned  by  the  same  refreshing 
breezes,  shaded  by  the  same  grand  old  trees ;  to  take  a  draught  from 
the  same  old  oaken  bucket ;  and,  looking  through  the  wide  rooms,  stop 
before  the  quaint  old  portraits  of  departed  ancestors  ;  or  walk  through 
the  silent  aisles  of  that  peaceful  and  quiet  neighborhood  where  the 


12  THE  MEEKIMACK  EIVER; 

bones  of  an  honored  ancestry  repose,  to  decipher  again  for  the 
twentieth  time  perhaps,  with  humid  eyes,  the  hieroglyphics  wrought 
long  years  before  by  the  hand  of  affection,  which  chronicle  the  deeds 
and  worth  of  the  deceased  ;  while  the  majestic  elms  afford  a  calm  and 
grateful  shade,  and  the  wild  birds  flit  from  branch  to  branch  without 
fear,  or  carol  plaintive  and  joyous  melodies  as  if  to  do  homage  to  the 
worth  of  the  departed,  and  the  modest  little  wild  flower  dots  the  ver- 
nal spread  upon  their  lowly  bed,  and  offers  the  humble  tribute  of  a 
grateful  fragrance  to  their  memory. 

Honored  by  the  land  of  their  adoption  often  with  great  and  all- 
important  interests  in  their  keeping,  severely  taxed  to  preserve  the 
trust  reposed  in  them,  the  emigrant  from  this  to  other  States  still 
finds  time  for  an  occasional  pilgrimage  to  his  native  land. 

Of  all  the  countless  numbers  of  those  who  have  emigrated  to  other 
States  and  mingled  in  other  scenes,  how  few  there  are  who  have  not 
conferred  honor  upon  the  land  of  their  nativity  !  Daniel  Webster  may 
be  cited  as  a  conspicuous  example  of  the  honor  reflected  upon  the 
State  by  her  absent  sons.  Nor  has  emigration  depleted  the  moral  and 
intellectual  wealth  of  the  State,  as  is  proved  by  the  long  line  of  great 
men,  past  and  present,  illustrious  in  every  sphere  of  life  and  useful- 
ness. 

Deservedly  great  as  has  been  the  fame  of  her  public  men,  her 
mechanics  -and  artisans  are  equally  celebrated  ;  her  monster  brick 
palaces,  which  cluster  around  each  available  waterfall,  exhibit  an 
architectural  ability  equal  to  the  best ;  her  endless  variety  of  imple- 
ments and  articles  of  wood  manufacture  display  an  ingenuity  and 
finish  unsurpassed  ;  her  locomotive  engines  roll  on  every  gauge  across 
the  continent,  bearing  a  precious  freight  of  human  souls  to  the  fertile 
prairies  that  stretch  away  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  returning  with 
their  monster  trains  of  that  indispensable  merchandise  which  feeds 
and  moves  the  arm  of  the  thousands  of  mechanics  at  the  East ;  her 
fire  annihilator,  the  admiration  of  all,  worked  by  the  untiring  and 
enduring  muscle  of  steam  and  iron,  the  most  efficient  guardian  of  life 
and  property,  has  raised  its  protecting  aegis,  not  only  in  all  the  cities 
throughout  the  Union,  but  has  carried  the  same  invaluable  quality,  as 
well  as  the  fame  of  our  mechanics,  across  the  Atlantic,  and  even  to 
those  remote  lands  beyond  the  great,  tranquil  sea. 

The  machinery,  of  every  kind  and  for  every  purpose,  produced  by 


JTS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  13 

the  industry  and  skill  of  her  mechanics,  is  a  marvel  of  perfection ; 
whether  designed  for  great  strength  or  extreme  delicacy,  its  model, 
its  finish,  its  intricacy,  its  adjustment,  its  adaptation  to  and  its  effi- 
ciency in  the  service  for  which  it  was  intended,  cannot  be  excelled. 
The  manufacture  of  every  variety  of  cloth  is  known  in  the  markets  of 
the  world,  and  whatever  fabric  is  required  for  necessity,  convenience, 
comfort,  or  ornament  is  produced. 

From  east  to  west,  from  north  to  south,  the  products  of  her  fac- 
tories are  indispensable,  and  are  turned  out  at  prices  so  reasonable 
as  to  be  within  the  reach  of  all.  The  successful  prosecution  of  this 
great  interest  has  not  only  been  a  benefit  to  our  own  land,  but  is  a 
substantial  blessing  to  the  human  race.  The  enterprise  which  has  pro- 
duced these  wares  invades  all  lands,  and  barters  them  to  the  utter- 
most ends  of  the  earth,  so  that  the  naked  and  unsightly  barbarian, 
the  Hindoo  and  the  Hottentot,  as  well  as  the  Christian,  may  make 
a  more  presentable  appearance  in  a  full  and  not  unbecoming  costume 
of  Manchester  matchless  cotton  fabrics. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  in  intellect,  patriotism,  the  mechanic 
arts,  and  agriculture,  in  all  the  appliances  which  tend  to  human 
progress,  the  people  of  this  rock-ribbed  commonwealth  maintain  un- 
impaired the  high  character  of  their  glorious  ancestry.  It  may  not 
be  disputed,  nay,  it  cannot  be  denied,  that  all  communities  in  all 
time  have  had  their  faults  and  follies,  and  the  State  of  New  Hamp- 
shire is  certainly  no  exception ;  still  it  is  confidently  believed  that 
no  community  of  equal  numbers  exhibits  greater  virtues  or  less 
vices,  greater  capacity  in  the  science  of  government,  in  the  art  of  war, 
or  in  the  peaceful  pursuits  which  adorn  and  dignify  a  people.  Nor 
are  the  people  alone  the  only  object  worthy  of  reference.  Here  nature 
presents  herself  in  one  of  her  most  romantic  moods.  The  surface 
of  the  State  is  undulating  in  all  its  length  and  breadth,  while  at  the 
north  many  huge  mountains  rise  to  a  dizzy  height  and  are  piled  up 
in  inextricable  confusion,  and  lakes,  rivers,  and  mountain  torrents 
diversify  the  entire  surface.  This  section  has  often  been  called  the 
Switzerland  of  America,  from  its  real  or  fancied  resemblance  to  that 
romantic  land.  However  this  may  be,  there  is  a  peculiar  grandeur 
and  sublimity  about  this  region,  as  well  as  other  distinguishing 
features,  such  as  may  be  termed  wonderful  freaks  of  nature,  which 
destroy  the  parallel,  and  leave  this  territory  pre-eminently  and  in- 


14  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

comparably  sublime.  That  this  is  not  overdrawn  is  attested  by  the 
thousands  who  annually  visit  here ;  and  even  the  polished  and  schol- 
arly Everett  has  touched  it  with  the  magic  of  his  masterly  eloquence. 

Is  it  surprising^  then,  that  a  people  reared  amid  such  magnificent 
surroundings,  and  familiar  with  nature  in  its  noblest  aspect,  —  is  it 
strange  that  a  people  thus  situated  should  carve  out  for  themselves  a 
record  which  commands  the  attention  and  respect  of  mankind? 

More  than  two  hundred  years  ago  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  was 
settled  by  several  slender  colonies ;  some  by  the  authority  of  crown 
patents,  others  under  the  king's  grant,  —  sometimes  made  as  a  reward 
for  discovery,  —  or  under  a  semblance  of  purchase  from  the  Indians, 
who,  being  the  occupants,  were,  consequently,  the  unquestionable 
proprietors.  The  colonies  were  few  and  feeble,  and,  from  various 
causes,  this  condition  remained  unchanged  for  many  years.  Owing 
to  the  severity  of  the  climate  and  the  unmitigated  hostility  of  the 
Indians,  the  settlements  maintained  a  sickly  existence  or  dwindled 
away,  and,  finally  disheartened  and  discouraged,  broke  up,  and  either 
joined  their  more  fortunate  neighbors,  or  returned  to  Europe  with 
some  of  the  many  exploring  expeditions  which  were  constantly  vis- 
iting the  eastern  coast.  The  progress  of  the  colonies  was  slow ;  less 
determined  people  would  have  succumbed  to  the  almost  insurmount- 
able obstacles  which  they  encountered.  As  it  was,  it  seemed  that 
their  holding  was  very  precarious,  and  it  was  apparently  doubtful  if 
they  could  maintain  a  foothold  on  the  soil.  But  fail,  as  shown  by 
the  result,  was  not  in  their  vocabulary,  and  ere  long  the  forest 
began  to  melt  away  before  their  vigorous  blows,  and  it  soon  became 
apparent  that  it  was  only  a  question  of  time  when  the  Indian  and 
his  title  should  both  be  extinguished. 

While  the  savages  were  much  the  most  numerous,  equally  brave, 
cunning,  sagacious,  and  active,  their  training,  habits,  and  imple- 
ments of  warfare  were  so  much  more  primitive  as  left  an  immense 
disparity  between  the  belligerents.  The  red  man's  wants  were  few 
and  easily  supplied,  the  field,  the  forest,  and*  the  flood  affording  all 
his  necessaries,  comforts,  and  luxuries  of  life, — the  former  con- 
tributing so  little,  however,  as  to  be  scarcely  worth  taking  into  ac- 
count. His  ability  to  prosecute  a  successful  offensive  warfare  was 
limited  to  an  ambuscade,  or  an  unexpected  midnight  attack,  while  his 
defensive  power  was  absolutely  nothing ;  for,  though  the  bow  and  ar- 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS   TRIBUTARIES.  15 

• 
* 
row  and  tomahawk  were  really  efficient  in  supplying  food,  the  longer 

range  and  more  deadly  musket,  sending  forth  its  lightning  and  thun- 
der, cutting  down  the  chief,  the  brave,  the  squaw,  and  the  pappoose 
indiscriminately,  carried  terror  and  dismay  through  their  decimated 
and  demoralized  ranks.  His  villages  being  unprotected  became  an 
easy  prey  to  the  irresistible  pale-face,  and  were  plundered  and 
burned  without  pity,  and  his  only  safety  was  to  place  a  respectful 
distance  between  his  habitation  and  his  enemy. 

Of  the  many  voyagers  to  the  Western  or  New  World,  as  it  was 
called,  Columbus  appears  to  have  been  the  most  unfortunate,  as  well 
as  first  and  greatest,  ^ith  a  genius  towering  above  all  navigators 
and  explorers  who  had  hitherto  been  renowned  and  rewarded,  and 
which  was  almost  beyond  the  comprehension  of  princes,  and  an  ambi- 
tion lofty,  unconquerable,  irrepressible,  and  commendable,  he  bent  his 
great  mind  and  untiring  energies  to  the  task  of  securing,  organizing, 
and  fitting  out  an  expedition  which  has,  by  universal  consent,  placed 
his  name  in  the  highest  niche  reserved  for  the  mighty  travellers  of 
the  sea  in  the  temple  of  fame.  Having  prosecuted  the  most  success- 
ful experiment  ever  attempted,  and  brought  the  problem  of  a  West- 
ern World  to  a  positive  solution,  and  added  at  the  same  time  its 
boundless  area  and  fabulous  wealth  of  undeveloped  resources  to  the 
possessions  of  his  ungrateful  sovereign,  he  was  permitted  to  languish 
in  obscurity,  and  died  broken-hearted  in  his  fifty-ninth  year.  His 
patroness  and  only  reliable  friend,  Isabella,  having  preceded  him  to 
the  tomb,  his  compeers  and  rivals,  actuated  by  a  spirit  of  unworthy 
and  ungenerous  selfishness,  which  seems  to  have  been  connived  at,  or 
at  least  not  restrained,  by  the  king,  stripped  him  as  far  as  they  could 
of  the  merit  and  the  advantages  resulting  from  the  most  magnificent 
achievement  which  human  genius  had  ever  devised  and  brought  to 
successful  issue.  Thus  Columbus  proved  to  be  no  exception  to  the 
general  rule,  that  great  discoverers  and  inventors,  the  very  few  who 
possess  originality  of  mind  and  genius,  fail  to  realize  the  benefits  of 
their  achievements,  which  are  usually  secured  by  seedy  and  needy 
adventurers,  —  soldiers  of  fortune,  whose  shrewdness  and  enterprise 
is  of  that  discreditable  character  which  manages  to  appropriate  the 
products  of  other  greater  and  better  minds. 

However,  though  Columbus  was  shorn  of  the  immediate  fruits  of 
his  great  enterprise  by  unbecoming  envy,  jealousy,  malice,  treachery, 


16  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

• 

and  gross  ingratitude,  impartial  history  will  render  all  the  justice 
possible  to  one  of  the  most  intrepid,  ambitious,  and  enterprising 
navigators. 

When  the  success  of  Columbus  became  known  at  home  the  Te 
Deum  was  sung, — the  usual  anthem  for  the  most  important  of 
Spanish  discoveries,  —  and  the  news  was  everywhere  received  with 
the  wildest  demonstrations  of  joy.  The  brilliant  success  of  Spain 
inflamed  thfe  ambition  and  cupidity  of  England,  and  before  the  end 
of  the  second  year  she  had  fitted  out,  organized,  and  equipped  a 
powerful  expedition  for  exploration  and  discovery  in  the  New  World. 
The  command  and  management  of  this  Jhportant  expedition  was 
placed  in  the  hands  of  John  Cabot  and  his  son  Sebastian,  gentlemen 
reputed  to  be  possessed  of  great  maritime  skill.  Sailing  from  Bris- 
tol, and  pursuing  a  westward  course,  they  discovered  a  large  island 
which  the  sailors  called  Newfoundland,  or  Prima  Vista ;  continuing 
their  course  they  discovered  other  smaller  islands,  which  they  named, 
and  soon  reached  the  coast  of  Labrador,  being  the  first  Europeans 
who  had  ever  actually  seen  the  American  continent. 

Cabot  explored  the  eastern  coast  as  far  south  as  Virginia,  laying 
claim  to  the  continent  in  the  name  of  his  sovereign. 

The  same  spirit  of  detraction  and  envy  which  had  been  aroused  by 
the  success  of  Columbus,  pursued  the  Cabots,  and  the  consequence 
of  this  expedition,  successful  in  all  respects,  was  little  else  than  to 
make  their  names  historic  to  the  extent  of  the  improvement  they  had 
made  on  the  previous  voyage  of  Columbus.  From  this  time  forth 
expeditions  were  constantly  sailing  to  the  West  for  various  purposes, 
but  generally  for  trade  and  fishing. 

Henry  VII.,  under  whose  auspices  the  Cabot  expedition  was  insti- 
tuted, fitted  out  several  others,  for  the  purpose  of  finding  a  shorter 
route  to  the  East  Indies,  which  proved  disastrous,  and  the  attempt 
was  abandoned.  But  the  fisheries  were  prosecuted  extensively  by 
the  maritime  powers,  as  well  as  commerce  with  the  natives  of  the 
islands  and  the  coast  along  the  north  and  east  of  New  Hampshire  for 
furs,  and  as  far  south  as  the  Carolinas. 

Though  it  is  known  that  many  vessels  must  have  traded  along  the 
coast  of  New  Hampshire  and  Maine,  it  is  a  remarkable  fact  that 
for  a  hundred  years  after  the  discovery  of  America  no  white  man 
stepped  foot  upon  its  shores,  or  even  saw  it. 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS   TRIBUTARIES.  17 

During  the  long-  intervening  period  between  the  discovery  of 
America  by  Columbus  and  the  discovery  of  New  Hampshire  by  Capt. 
John  Smith,  the  commerce  of  France,  England,  and  Holland  with 
the  New  World  was  considerably  increased  and  the  area  of  their  nav- 
igation greatly  enlarged.  Many  companies  were  formed  in  these 
countries,  composed  of  gentlemen  of  wealth,  enterprising  merchants, 
and  persons  of  a  speculating  turn  of  mind,  who  had  in  their  employ 
the  most  skilful  and  daring  officers  to  be  found  in  the  merchant 
marine.  The  ships  of  these  companies  visited  the  islands  and  ex- 
plored the  entire  east  coast  of  North  America,  bartering  with  the 
natives  for  furs,  peltries,  fish,  sassafras,  gums,  and  a  great  variety  of 
other  articles,  for  which  they  generally  exacted  knives  and  other 
weapons  and  implements  made  of  steel.  Though  these  companies 
generally  failed  to  realize  any  remunerative  gains  for  themselves, 
they  opened  and  established  a  trade  so  extensive  and  varied,  that 
ultimately,  very  much  of  the  thrift  and  opulence  of  those  countries 
grew  out  of  it,  and  actually  depended  upon  it.  At  the  same  time 
the  American  fisheries  were  prosecuted  by  these  countries  with  great 
energy  and-  considerable  profit, —  France  alone  having  employed  on 
the  Grand  Banks  (1575-80),  as  many  as  one  hundred  and  fifty  sail 
of  fishermen.  While  these  countries  were  thus  laying  a  firm  founda- 
tion for  a  healthy  and  steady,  rather  than  spasmodic  growth,  prepar- 
ing the  way  to  transplant  a  vigorous  and  enterprising  race  to  the 
fertile  lands  of  the  New  World  who  should  compensate  them  by  a 
development  of  its  boundless  resources,  Spain  turned  her  attention 
to  the  more  genial  climes  of  Mexico  and  South  America.  The  his- 
tory of  her  conquest  of  these  countries  is  written  in  cruelty,  cupidity, 
rapacity,  and  blood.  The  tracks  of  Pizarro,  Cortez,  and  Almagro 
and  their  compeers  exhibited  more  of  desolation  to  the  effeminate 
and  terror-stricken  natives  than  the  hurricanes,  roaring  deluge,  or 
consuming  fire.  Mad  with  the  passion  for  gold,  they  swept  like  a 
whirlwind  through  half-civilized  hordes  of  natives,  and  gathered  their 
booty  amidst  the  ruins  of  cities.  Their  love  of  riches  was  only 
equalled  by  their  contempt  for  industry ;  they  hurried  the  Indians  in 
crowds  to  the  mountains  and  forced  them  with  merciless  rigor  to  the 
fatal  toil  of  the  mines.  Inflexible  pride,  determined  valor,  and  de- 
liberate atrocity  marked  their  whole  career  of  conquest  and  oppression 
It  was  a  union  of  avarice,  fanaticism,  and  chivalry. 
3 


18  THE  MEnnniACK  EIVEE; 

The  native  emperors,  incas,  and  people  were  involved  in  common 
destruction  ;  never  were  courage,  fortitude,  and  valor  devoted  to  more 
sordid,  unjust,  and  barbarous  ends ;  never  was  genius  more  power- 
fully employed  to  scourge  mankind.  ' '  The  paganism  of  the  natives 
had  allured  to  the  invasion  a  few  of  the  old  bigots  of  Spain,  and  it  is 
sadly  instructive  to  mark  these  champions  of  the  cross,  trampling, 
in  the  name  of  religion,  upon  the  most  sacred  rights,  and  giving 
glory  to  God  amidst  the  destruction  of  life  and  the  desolation  of 
empires." 

The  founding  of  colonies  generally  comprehends,  or  at  least  inr 
volves,  the  expatriation  if  not  extermination  of  the  native  inhabitants, 
if  there  be  any,  and  though  rapacity  and  flagrant  cruelty  may  have, 
and  undoubtedly  did,  mark  the  conduct  of  some  of  the  early  explor- 
ers and  colonists  of  this  country,  still,  unlike  the  experience  of  the 
Spaniard,  the  human  havoc  was  not  entirely  one-sided ;  the  native 
population  found  here,  by  the  Europeans,  were  physically  hardy, 
powerful,  active,  cunning,  and  warlike,  and  by  their  sagacious  fore- 
cast, the  primitive  weapons,  which  had  even  come  to  be  fatally  effi- 
cient in  their  hands,  had  measurably  given  way  to  those  which  they 
had  obtained  by  way  of  trade  with  inadvertent  speculators,  and 
which  were  much  more  convenient  and  effective  for  their  protection, 
and  for  general  warfare.  Hence  the  North  American  Indian  was 
under  no  compulsion  to,  and  did  not,  remain  passive  until  destroyed 
or  subjugated,  but  often  met  his  antagonist  in  deadly  conflict  under 
conditions  regarded  by  himself  as  more  than  even,  or/failing  in  this, 
he  retired  to  the  inaccessible  wilds,  where,  to  say  the  least,  as  bis 
property  was  generally  personal  and  portable,  he  was  perfectly 
secure  in  his  person  and  effects. 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  many  navigators  were  familiar  with 
the  north-east  coast,  and  for  many  years  trading  and  fishing  had 
been  engaged  in  by  the  maritime  nations  of  Europe,  and  the  most 
skilful,  enterprising,  and  ambitious  captains  had  been  uniformly  em- 
ployed in  this  service,  still  there  appears  to  be  no  record  or  even 
tradition  of  any  European  having  touched  or  ever  observed  the  coast 
of  New  Hampshire,  until  Capt.  John  Smith,  sailing  along  the  coast 
from  Penobscot  to  Cape  Cod,  discovered,  entered,  and  explored  the 
fine  harbor  of  Piscataqua,  and  caused  a  chart  to  be  made  of  the  ter- 
ritory, as  far  as  he  was  able  to  ascertain,  of  the  coast  of  New  Hamp- 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TBIBUTARIES.  19 

shire  and  of  the  adjacent  waters,  which  on  his  return  he  presented 
to  the  prince. 

Capt.  John  Smith  appears  to  have  been  even  from  childhood  one 
of  those  erratic  individuals  who,  moving  without  rudder  or  compass 
that  can  be  observed,  without  visible  aim  or  purpose,  yet  succeed  in 
the  accomplishment  of  some  beneficent  object  by  the  very  vicissitudes 
of  fortune.  A  rollicking,  vigorous,  and  ungoverned  recklessness  re- 
sulting in  benefit  to  the  world  seems  to  prove  these  singular  charac- 
teristics to  have  been  in  his  case  but  the  eccentricity  of  a  universal 
genius. 

At  the  very  door  of  his  teens,  impatient  of  the  slow  process  of 
acquiring  knowledge  at  school,  and  disgusted  with  his  books,  he 
peddled  them  out,  using  the  proceeds  to  secure  some  slender  means 
for  the  accomplishment  of  an  idea  he  had  in  contemplation  even 
at  that  early  age,  —  a  clandestine  voyage  to  sea. 

His  subsequent  career  the  world  knows  by  heart,  and  as  long  as 
the  generous  affection  and  unselfish  devotion  of  Pocahontas  shall  be 
recognized  as  a  conspicuous  exhibition  of  untutored  and  spontaneous 
Christianity,  it  cannot  be  forgotten.  Whether  on  an  exploring  ex- 
pedition on  the  high  seas,  or  planning  the  details  of  a  colonial  set- 
tlement, the  same  vigorous  ideas  and  the  same  activity  in  putting  in 
practice  are  everywhere  apparent.  He  was  the  founder  of  colonies 
and  the  father  of  States.  Did  anything  occur  to  derange  the  ma- 
chinery of  government,  or  the  material  prosperity  of  the  colony,  it 
appealed  to  Captain  Smith  as  the  only  star  of  a  last  surviving  hope 
to  rescue  it  from  impending  anarchy,  starvation,  or  extermination  at 
the  hands  of  a  wily  and  ruthless  savage  foe.  The  story  of  his  hair- 
breadth escapes,  his  trials,  and  triumphs  is  not  new ;  but  it  is  good 
and  true  ;  how  he  eluded  the  vigilance  of  the  savages,  successfully 
accomplished  his  objects,  and  saved  the  colonists,  and,  when  finally 
made  captive  and  sentenced  to  death,  in  his  dire  extremity,  the  fer- 
tility of  resource  never  leaving  him,  he  presented  his  executioner  — 
that  was  to  be  —  with  a  mariner's  compass,  pointing  out  to  him  the 
marvellous  adjustment  of  the  needle,  its  invariable  attraction  toward 
the  north  star ;  explained  the  vastness  of  the  ocean,  and  the  shape 
of  the  earth  and  its  motion.  The  murderous  design  was  suspended, 
and  the  superstitious  Indians,  overwhelmed  by  the  magnitude  of  his 
wisdom  and  the  incomparable  superiority  of  his  acquirements, 


20  THE  MEEEIMACK  EIVER; 

granted  him  a  reprieve  until  his  case  should  be  laid  before  Pow- 
hatan,  the  king,  and  his  fate  definitely  settled. 

Although  by  this  cunning  stratagem,  he  had  delayed  the  decision 
of  his  fate,  still  he  was  not  free ;  it  is  true  he  was  held  as  an  illus- 
trious prisoner,  and  was  regarded  with  superstitious  veneration  by 
his  captors,  and  it  was  believed  he  could  act  as  mediator  to  appease 
the  wrath  of  the  Great  Spirit  toward  themselves. 

Having  several  times  escaped  from  the  jaws  of  death,  he  lived  to 
return  home,  and  carried  with  him  such  accounts  of  the  country 
he  had  explored  as  created  the  liveliest  interest,  and  Charles  com- 
plimented the  country  by  calling  it  New  England.  Of  Captain 
John  Smith,  one  of  his  biographers  says  :  — 

"  Whether  we  view  him  embarking  for  Italy  with  '  a  rabble  of 
pilgrims,'  mounting  the  deadly  breach  at  Regal,  fighting  hand  to 
hand  with  the  Turks  in  the  armies  of  Austria,  wandering  in  the 
deserts  of  Circassia,  conducted  a  prisoner  in  the  country  of  the 
Cambrian  Tartars,  passing  over  into  Africa  and  visiting  the  court 
of  Morocco,  or  surveying  the  wild  coast  of  New  Hampshire, 
he  appears  everywhere  to  be  equally  remarkable  for  his  eccentric 
genius  and  his  strange  fortune." 

A  grant  was  made  of  that  portion  of  the  territory  which  had  been 
christened  New  England,  which  was  included  between  the  fortieth  and 
forty-eighth  parallel  north  latitude,  to  a  company  consisting  of  forty 
distinguished  gentlemen,  some  of  whom  had  received  the  honor  of 
knighthood.  The  financial  and  governmental  management  and  con- 
trol of  this  territory  were  to  be  perpetual  in  the  hands  of  this  com- 
pany, and  a  majority  vote  of  the  shareholders  in  the  corporation 
was  to  be  a  final  and  irrevocable  decision  on  all  subjects  connected 
with  its  prosperity  and  its  progress. 

Thus  the  charter  of  New  England  was  the  foundation  on  which 
was  based  very  many  of  the  subsequent  patents,  grants,  and  charters 
which  were  made,  and  by  which  New  England  became  ultimately 
settled.  The  views,  plans,  schemes,  and  ideas  of  these  individuals 
were  no  doubt  multifarious  and  varied,  perhaps  visionary.  However 
that  may  be,  the  first  influence  that  was  felt,  or  which  affected  New 
England,  was  corporate  power, —  a  mighty  power  which,  as  experience 
has  proved,  may  be  wielded  with  tremendous  consequences  for  weal 
or  woe.  But  this  corporation,  like  all  irresponsible  powers,  at 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  21 

length  becoming  an  unendurable  arid  odious  monopoly,  complaint 
was  made  that  it  was  a  serious  grievance,  and  the  charter  was 
finally  revoked. 

Previous  to  the  explorations  of  Captain  Smith  an  expedition  was 
organized  at  Bristol,  which  was  put  under  the  command  of  Captain 
Pring.  It  consisted  of  two  small  vessels,  —  the  Speedwell  and  Dis- 
coverer, —  and  abolit  fifty  men,  which  sailed  on  the  10th  of  April, 
1603,  and  sailed  along  the  coast  of  Maine,  as  far  as  the  Piscataqua 
River,  which,  it  is  said,  he  explored.  He,  however,  seems  to  have 
confined  his  explorations  principally  to  the  coast  of  Maine,  and  thus 
this  expedition  seems  to  have  thrown  little  or  no  light  on  the  dark  and 
unknown  wilderness  of  New  Hampshire,  and  contributed  no  informa- 
tion or  knowledge  concerning  its  inhabitants,  topography,  resources, 
or  extent.  The  name  of  New  England,  which  this  territory  has 
retained,  is  by  no  means  the  only  appellation  which  it  has  received ; 
among  other  names  by  which  from  time  to  time  it  has  been  known 
are  New  Spain,  New  France,  New  Holland,  Acadia,  etc. 

In  1603,  Pierre  du  Guast,  Sieur  de  Ments,  obtained  an  exclusive 
patent  of  the  country  called  New  France,  from  the  fortieth  to  the 
forty-sixth  parallel,  under  the  name  of  Acadia ;  De  Ments  having 
been  joined  by  De  Champlain,  a  navigator  of  considerable  ability, 
who  had  already  come  out  with  an  expedition  which  sailed  up  the 
St.  Lawrence,  and  selected  Quebec  as  the  site  for  a  strong  fortifica- 
tion, and  learned  much  of  the  disposition,  character,  and  numbers  of 
the  native  population  as  well  as  something  of  the  topography  of  the 
country.  The  expedition  sailed  from  Havre,  March,  1604,  con- 
sisting of  four  vessels.  Arriving  in  these  waters  the  vessels  parted 
company  for  various  destinations  and  purposes.  Champlain  with 
others,  in  1605.  proceeded  to  explore  the  coast  as  far  south  as  Cape 
Cod,  with  a  view  to  locating  settlements ;  but  the  natives  appeared 
so  numerous  and  unfriendly  that  they  were  deterred  from  complet- 
ing this  4esign. 

De  Champlain  entered  and  surveyed  the  harbor  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Piscataqua,  and  when  near  the  Isles  of  Shoals  he  discovered 
some  natives  on  the  opposite  shore.  Wishing  to  obtain  what  infor- 
mation he  could,  he  proceeded  toward  them  to  seek  an  interview, 
when  they  met  him  in  a  canoe  ;  after  making  them  presents  of  bread 
and  some  implements,  which  they  received  with  manifestations  of 


22  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER  ; 

delight,  he  inquired  of  them  concerning  the  lay  of  the  land,  the 
direction  of  the  coast,  and  other  matters ;  in  reply,  they  sketched  a 
rude  diagram  or  chart  of  the  coast,  which  proved  to  be  extremely 
accurate.  In  the  chart  which  they  traced,  they  informed  him 
there  was  a  large  bay  to  the  westward,  into  which  flowed  a  great  and 
beautiful  river.  The  next  day  De  Champlain  weighed  anchor  and 
sailed,  determined  to  make  the  land  he  had  seen  far  to  the  south- 
ward, and  which  is  now  known  as  Cape  Ann ;  proceeding,  he  dis- 
covered Plum  Island  and  the  mouth  of  a  magnificent  river.  This 
he  called  "  Riviere  du  Guast,  which  in  my  judgment  rises  in  the  di- 
rection of  the  Iriquois,  —  a  nation  which  is  at  open  war  with  the 
mountaineers  who  are  upon  the  great  River  St.  Lawrence."  De 
Champlain,  it  appears,  based  his  opinion  concerning  the  course  of  the 
river  on  what  he  was  able  to  see  of  it,  and  his  conjecture  was 
erroneous,  as,  instead  of  its  course  being  westward,  it  is  northward. 
Thus  was  De  Champlain  the  discoverer  of  the  Merrimack  River,  al- 
though its  existence  was  previously  known,  even  under  its  present 
name,  by  the  coast  Indians  and  Europeans  far  to  the  eastward. 
Some  accounts  declare  that  De  Champlain  landed  at  the  place  of  the 
interview  with  the  natives,  which  was  undoubtedly  what  is  now  known 
as  Rye  Beach.  If  this  was  the  case,  he  was  unquestionably  the 
first  European  who  ever  set  foot  on  the  soil  of  New  Hampshire ;  but 
the  fact  may  be  considered  as  still  in  doubt  whether  or  not  he 
actually  landed. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  fame  of  this  river  had  extended  hundreds 
of  leagues,  and  its  distinguishing  characteristics  were  chronicled  by 
the  aborigines  in  the  name  they  gave  it. 

"  This  river  was  called  Merrimack  by  the  northern  Indians. 
Merrimack  means,  doubtless,  a  place  of  strong  current,  from  Merroh 
(strong)  and  awke  (a  place),  the  "  M  "  being  thrown  in  for  the  sake 
of  sound.  But  by  the  Massachusetts  Indians  this  river  was  called 
Menomack,  from  mena  (an  island)  and  awke  (a  place),  meaning  the 
island  place,  from  the  number  of  beautiful  islands  in  this  river."* 

The  Indians,  it  is  said,  in  communications,  messages,  and  conversa- 
tion among  themselves,  used  many  descriptive  expressions  when 
speaking  of  the  Merrimack  River,  such  as  "  the  bright,  rapid 
water,"  "the  beautiful  river  with  the  pebbly  bottom,"  "the  water 

*  Potter. 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  23 

that  comes  from  the  high  place,"  etc.  etc.  They  were  certainly 
great  admirers  of  the  grand  and  beautiful  in  nature,  and  the  namea 
which  they  bestowed  upon  localities,  mountains,  lakes,  and  rivers, 
exhibit  incontestable  proof  of  this,  and  in  many  instances  even  an 
adoration  of  the  Great  Spirit,  to  whom  they  naturally  attributed 
the  authorship  of  all  things. 

But  these  barbarians,  like  their  more  enlightened  followers,  looked 
upon  this  river  more  with  an  eye  to  business  than  to  beauty;  to  its 
utility  and  capacity  for  augmenting  their  material  prosperity  than  to 
its  merely  ornamental  qualities.  Thus  even  the  name  of  this  river 
had  an  unmistakable  significance  in  it,  as  it  described  just  such  a 
river  as  they  well  knew  that  the  cream  of  all  the  migratory  tribes 
would  most  delight  in,  and  where  they  were  certain  to  crowd  in  count- 
less myriads  on  their  regular  annual  summer  excursion  from  the  great 
water  to  the  foaming  cascade-ripples,  dark  pools,  and  shaded  reaches, 
where  the  numerous  tributaries  roll  down  from  the  mountains,  and 
meandering  through  long  stretches  of  forests,  afford  those  cool  re- 
treats to  which  they  were  accustomed  to  resort  for  summering  and 
spawning. 

As  the  artisan,  mechanic,  manufacturer,  and  capitalist  of  modern 
times  learned  the  adaptation  and  capacity  of  this  river  as  a  motive 
power,  and  congregated  about  its  falls,  —  constructing  dams  to  catch 
the  water  on  its  journey  down,  erecting  monster  mills  with  massive 
six-story  brick  walls,  building  populous  cities  and  beautiful  villages, 
fabricating  unsurpassed  cotton  and  woollen  goods,  machinery,  and  im- 
plements, —  so  did  the  red  man  of  primitive  days  learn  the  peculiar 
fitness  of  this  river  for  supplying  his  necessities  and  wants,  equally 
as  pressing  and  urgent  as  those  of  his  more  civilized  successors ;  and 
here  he  also  congregated  around  the  same  falls,  constructing  weirs  to 
catch  his  food,  erecting  his  smoking-poles  and  drying-flakes,  building 
his  little  wigwam  city,  ornamenting  his  blankets  and  moccasins, 
growing  his  scanty  supply  of  maize,  pompions,  gourds,  and  other 
varieties  of  squash,  catching,  curing  and  trafficking  in  salmon,  shad, 
eels,  and  ale-wives ;  so  that  the  Lowell,  Manchester,  and  Laconia  of 
the  present  day  are  but  the  Pawtucket,  "  Namoskeag  "  and  Winni- 
pesaukee  of  by-gone  times, —  a  little  exaggerated,  to  be  sure,  and  differ- 
ing somewhat  in  the  kind,  quantity,  and  value  of  their  productions, 
still  the  same  busy  marts,  crowded  as  now  with  a  community  — which, 


24  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

however,  differed  from  that  of  the  present  day  in  every  respect, 
except  the  single  one  of  being  industrious  —  at  the  time  of  the 
spring  and  fall  migration.  As  has  already  been  stated,  the  Merri- 
mack  River  was  widely  known  and  famed  among  the  Indians 
long  before  its  discovery  by  Europeans,  and,  further,  it  was  known 
everywhere  among  the  natives  by  the  name  it  still  retains.  It  is  true 
its  European  discoverers  made  a  futile  attempt  at  rechristening,  but 
it  is  believed  that  even  a  legislative  enactment  changing  its  name 
would  be  ineffectual  and  unpopular,  and  that  any  new  name  would 
not  survive  the  baptismal-day  except  in  compulsory  legal  forms. 

"  The  discovery  of  the  Merrimack  took  place  under  the  auspices 
of  Henry  IV.,  commonly  called  Henry  le  Grande  (the  great),  whose 
reign  forms  one  of  the  most  brilliant  eras  in  the  annals  of  France. 
In  1603  Pierre  du  Gaust,  Sieur  de  Monts,  one  of  the  ablest  of  the 
Huguenot  chiefs,  obtained  a  patent  from  this  king  creating  him 
lieutenant-general  and  vice-admiral,  and  vesting  in  him  the 
government  of  New  France,  which  embraced  all  our  eastern  and 
middle  States  together  with  the  Dominion  of  Canada.  On  the 
seventh  of  March,  1604,  De  Monts  sailed  from  Havre  with  an  expe- 
dition for  colonizing  Acadia,  as  these  new  dominions  were  called. 
He  arrived  on  the  sixth  of  April,  and  began  at  once  the  great  work 
of  exploration  and  settlement.  While  talking  with  the  Indians  on 
the  banks  of  the  River  St.  Lawrence,  in  the  ensuing  summer,  he  was 
told  by  them  that  there  was  a  beautiful  river  lying  far  to  the  south, 
which  they  called  the  Merrimack. 

"  The  following  winter  De  Monts  spent  with  his  fellow-pioneers  on 
the  Island  of  St.  Croix,  in  Passamaquoddy  Bay,  amid  hardships  as 
severe  as  those  which  sixteen  years  later  beset  the  Pilgrims  at  Plym- 
outh. On  the  eighteenth  of  June,  1605,  in  a  bark  of  fifteen  tons, 
having  with  him  the  Sieur  de  Champlain  and  several  other  French 
gentlemen,  twenty  sailors,  and  an  Indian  with  his  squaw,  De  Monts 
sailed  from  St.  Croix,  and  standing  in  to  the  south  examined  the 
coast  as  far  as  Cape  Cod.  In  the  course  of  this  cruise,  on  the 
seventeenth  of  July,  1605,  he  entered  the  bay  on  which  the  city  of 
Newburyport  now  stands,  and  discovered  the  Merrimack  at  its  mouth." 
The  Sieur  de  Champlain,  the  faithful  pilot  of  De  Monts  and  chroni- 
cler of  his  voyages,  has  left  a  notice  of  this  discovery  in  a  work 
which  ranks  among  the  most  romantic  in  the  literature  of  the  sea. 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TBIBUTABIES.  25 

In  closing  this  notice,  Champlain  says  :  — 

"  Moreover,  there  is  in  this  bay  a  river  of  considerable  magnitude, 
which  we  nave  called  Gua's  River.  Thus  De  Monts  named  the 
Merrimack  from  himself,  but  the  compliment  was  not  accepted.  Re- 
gardless of  the  name  with  which  it  was  baptized  by  its  discoverer, 
the  Merrimack  clung,  with  poetic  justice,  to  the  name  which  it 
received  from  the  Indians  long  before  the  flag  of  the  vice-admiral 
floated  over  Newburyport  Bay.  The  visit  of  Admiral  De  Monts, 
like  that  of  Capt.  John  Smith  in  1614,  was  attended  with  no  re- 
sult. Other  renowned  names  were  yet  to  be  inscribed  on  the  list  of 
the  visitors  of  the  Merrimack ;  but  its  song  was  the  song  of  Tenny- 
son's brook :  — 

'  For  men  may  come  and  men  may  go, 
But  I  roll  on  forever.' "  * 

Among  the  members  of  the  Plymouth  Council  there  were  two 
men  named  John  Mason  and  Ferdinand  Gorges.  These  two  men, 
had  already  acquired  something  of  a  reputation  ;  but  their  history  — 
that  of  Mason  especially  —  is  rightfully  the  property  of  New  Hamp- 
shire. Equally  enterprising,  ambitious,  and  selfish,  the  minds  of 
both  were  inflamed  by  the  marvellous  and  incredible  stories  of  the 
New  World  related  by  returned  adventurers ;  and  being  thrown  much 
into  each  other's  society,  they  conceived  the  idea  and  put  in  execu- 
tion a  project  for  together  obtaining  a  grant  and  colonizing  in  the 
New  World.  Capt.  John  Mason  had  been  appointed  governor  of 
Newfoundland,  and  being  imbued  to  some  extent,  doubtless,  with 
the  spirit  of  credulity,  he  had,  from  the  island,  cast  a  wishful  and 
longing  eye  toward  the  mainland,  even  down  to  the  more  favored 
regions  of  New  England,  the  recently  discovered  El  Dorado,  where 
it  was  thought  that  untold  wealth  might  reward  those  who  sought  it 
there. 

On  his  return  to  England,  Capt.  Mason  obtained  from  the  Coun- 
cil a  grant  which  comprised  all  the  territory  from  Naumkeag  f  River, 

*  Relations  des  Jesuits. 

f  This  word  Dr.  Increase  Mather  declared  to  be  of  Hebrew  origin.  Ergo,  the  North 
American  Indian  was  a  descendant  of  that  ancient  race.  He  first  writes  the  word  "  Nahum- 
keik,"  and  then  goes  on  to  say  that  "  Nahum  "  signifies  consolation,  and  "  keik  "  a  bosom,  or 
heaven,  —  plainly  intimating  that  those  who  settled  at  this  place,  and,  of  course,  at  others 
bearing  a  similar  name,  were  to  be  received  into  the  bosom  of  consolation ;  but  whether  IB 
1  temporal  or  spiritual  sense,  the  doctor  has  not  clearly  indicated. 


26  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

now  Salem,  round  Cape  Ann  to  the  Merrimack  River,  and  up  to 
the  head  of  each  of  these,  across  from  the  head  of  one  to  the  same 
point  on  the  other,  and  including  thtf  islands  within  three  miles  of 
the  coast.  The  name  of  Mariana  District  was  given  to  the  grant. 
About  this  time  Mason  and  Gorges  determined  to  unite  their  for- 
tunes, and  jointly  obtained  a  patent  of  the  territory  between  the 
mouth  of  the  Merrimack  River  and  the  Sagadahoc,  extending  north- 
ward to  the  great  lakes  and  the  St.  Lawrence  River.  This  terri- 
tory was  called  the  Province  of  Laconia.  Having  possessed  them- 
selves of  that  large  tract  of  country,  these  two  energetic  men  set  to 
work  in  earnest,  hoping  to  realize,  by  developing  its  resources,  some 
of  that  wealth  of  which  they  had  been  dreaming,  and  which  had 
been  the  motor  in  driving  them,  with  all  their  great  energies,  head- 
long into  this  scheme.  Early  in  1623  they  sent  over  from  London 
a  colony  which  landed  at  the  mouth  of  the  Piscataqua,  and  called  the 
place  Little  Harbor.  Proceeding  up  the  river  to  the  site  of  the  present 
city  of  Portsmouth,  they  named  the  place  Strawberry  Bank.  In  the 
absence  of  any  known  reason  for  applying  the  name  of  this  delicious 
berry,  historians  infer  that  they  must  have  found  the  blossom  or  the 
fruit  of  the  strawberry  exceedingly  plentiful. 

The  colonists  divided  into  two  companies,  —  the  first  establishing  a 
permanent  settlement  near  the  mouth  of  the  Piscataqua ;  the  other, 
proceeding  some  miles  further  up,  located  at  Dover.  They  were 
commonly  known  as  the  upper  and  lower  plantations,  and  were,  in 
most  respects,  separate  communities,  and  subsequently  lived  under 
distinct  governments.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  New  Hampshire 
was  settled  in  less  than  three  years  after  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims 
at  Plymouth,  in  Massachusetts. 

Very  soon  Mason  and  Gorges  divided  their  possessions,  —  Mason 
relinquishing  all  right,  title,  and  interest  in  the  wild  region  east  of 
the  Piscataqua  to  Gorges,  which  took  the  name  of  Maine.  In  consid- 
eration of  this,  Gorges  offset  and  confirmed  to  Mason  all  that  portion 
of  the  Laconia  grant  west  of  the  Piscataqua,  to  which  he,  Mason, 
having  come  from  the  County  of  Hampshire,  in  England,  gave  the 
name  of  New  Hampshire.  So  Capt.  John  Mason,  whatever  may 
have  been  the  motive  that  prompted  his  action,  may  be  justly 
regarded  as  the  father  of  New  Hampshire.  Under  his  patronage, 
and  by  his  influence,  efforts,  and  exertions,  the  first  colony  was 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS   TRIBUTARIES.  27 

founded,  which,  though  feeble,  was  the  gerin  of  a  sovereign  State 
that  numbers  a  population  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  en- 
lightened people. 

Ever  since  its  discovery,  America  had  been  a  land  of  romance  ; 
the  most  incredible  stories  were  told  and  believed ;  delusion  seems  to 
have  taken  the  place  of  reason  in  the  minds  of  the  people  of  Europe. 
The  islands,  lakes,  rivers,  mountains,  and  forests  were  entirely  dif- 
ferent from  those  in  the  Old  World  ;  the  very  sands  were  said  to  be 
mixed  with  the  precious  metal;  the  islands  were  represented  as 
elysian  fields  of  perpetual  loveliness,  and  fit  abodes  for  fairies ;  the 
rivers,  crystal  streams  whose  beds  were  pebbled  with  the  richest 
gems ;  the  wonderful  natural  beauty  of  the  great  silver  lakes  was  inde- 
scribable, studded  with  emerald  islands,  some  of  them  many  leagues 
in  extent,  abounding  in  game  of  the  choicest  varieties,  while  the 
waters  were  filled  with  an  inexhaustible  abundance  of  the  richest 
fish ;  and  in  the  great  forests  grew,  in  spontaneous  profusion,  the 
most  valuable  wood,  while  shell-fruit,  and  many  other  delicious 
varieties,  loaded  the  branches,  and  game  of  every  kind,  great  and 
small,  was  so  plentiful  that  the  sportsman's 'occupation  would  be 
gone,  as  it  would  kindly  approach  the  habitation  of  the  colonists  to 
be  slaughtered  at  his  convenience.  This  river  *  was  said  to  be  "a 
faire  large  river,  well  replenished  with  many  fruitful  islands :  the 
ayr  thereof  is  pure  and  wholesome ;  the  country  pleasant,  having 
some  high  hills,  full  of  goodly  forest,  and  faire  vallies,  and  plaines 
fruitful  in  corn,  vines,  chestnuts,  walnuts,  and  infinite  sorts  of  other 
fruits ;  large  rivers  well  stored  with  fish,  and  environed  with  goodly 
meadows  full  of  timber-trees."  In  the  great  lakes  were  said  to  be 
"faire  islands,  which  are  low  and  full  of  goodly  woods  and  mead- 
ows, having  store  of  game  for  hunting,  as  stagges,  fallow  deer, 
elkes,  roebucks,  beavers,  and  other  sorts  of  beasts,  which  come  from 
the  mainland  to  the  said  islands.  The  rivers  which  fall  into  the 
lakes  have  in  them  good  store  of  beavers,  of  the  skins  of  which 
beasts,  as  also  of  the  elkes,  the  savages  make  their  chiefest  traffique ; 
the  said  islands  have  been  inhabited  heretofore  by  the  savages,  but 
are  now  abandoned  by  reason  of  their  late  wars,  one  with  another. 
They  contain  twelve  or  fifteen  leagues  in  length  and  are  seated  com 
modiously  for  habitation  in  the  midst  of  the  lake,  which  abounds 

*  The  Merrimack. 


28  THE  MEEE1MACK  M1VER; 

with  divers  kinds  of  wholesome  fish.  From  this  lake  run  two  rivers 
southward,  which  fall  into  the  eastern  and  southern  sea-coaw.  }f  New 
England." 

It  may  not  be  wondered  at  that  the  people  of  Europe  should  en- 
tertain extravagant  ideas  of  the  New  World,  when  Gorges  himself, 
a  man  naturally  endowed  with  a  gorgeous  fancy,  should  write  such 
descriptions  for  the  information  of  the  people  at  home,  or  that  those 
who  sought  the  New  World  should  do  so  with  a  reasonable  expecta- 
tion of  obtaining  wealth  by  exploring  the  land,  rather  than  by  the  old- 
fashioned  slow  and  uncertain  process  of  tilling  it.  Among  those  who 
entertained  the  greatest  expectations  of  this  kind  was  Capt.  Mason 
himself;  he  knew  that  the  Spanish  expeditions  to  the  western  hemi- 
sphere had  returned  to  Europe  heavily  freighted  with  gems  and 
precious  metals.  The  Spaniards  had  reported  that  gold  was  so 
abundant  that  the  natives,  ignorant  of  its  great  value,  freely  used  it 
in  the  manufacture  of  the  most  ordinary  ornaments  and  implements. 
"Why  do  you  quarrel,"  said  a  young  cazique  to  the  Spaniards, 
"about  such  a  trifle  as  gold?  I  will  conduct  you  to  a  region  where 
the  meanest  utensils  are  made  of  it."  Mason  had  learned  that  gold 
was  obtained  from  the  mountains.  New  Hampshire  was  full  of 
mountains ;  and,  reasoning  from  analogy,  bright  visions  of  untold 
wealth  perpetually  appeared  before  him.  In  his  vivid  imagination, 
mines  of  incomputable  riches  reposed  under  the  granite  base  of  each 
great  hill,  waiting  only  the  magic  touch  of  his  masterly  energy  to 
arouse  it,  when  it  would  come  forth  and  invest  him  with  the  title, 
dignity,  and  prerogative  of  a  feudal  lord,  while  the  inhabitants  of  his 
extensive  domain  should  merely  be  his  vassals.  Such  was  Laconia, 
or,  at  least,  the  ideal  Laconia.  The  real  Laconia  was  yet  to  be  de- 
veloped by  unwearied  exertion,  years  of  toil,  patience,  endurance, 
and  privation. 

After  ten  years  of  hardship  the  disheartened  colonists  found  their 
condition  and  prospects  no  better  than  at  the  commencement.  This, 
instead  of  discouraging  the  proprietor,  seemed  to  have  the  effect  to 
render  him,  if  possible,  still  more  sanguine ;  adversity  might  darken 
his  prospects,  but  it  only  served  to  strengthen  his  faith.  Chimerical 
as  were  his  ideas  he  seems  to  have  been  restrained  by  a  most  cu- 
rious mental  organization  from  realizing  it,  nor  does  it  appear,  in  all 
his  checkered  colonial  career,  that  he  secured  scarcely  a  penny's 


ITS  SOUECE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  29 

worth  of  prosperity  to  a  pound  of  adversity.  He  died  in  1635,  with 
a  firm  reliance  to  the  last  moment,  it  appears,  on  the  ultimate  frui- 
tion of  his  cherished  hopes. 

In  1629,  Passaconaway,  a  great  chief,  sold  the  territory  extending 
from  the  Piscataqua  to  the  Merrimack  Eiver,  and  from  the  line  of 
Massachusetts  territory  thirty  miles  into  the  country,  to  Rev.  John 
Wheelwright  and  his  associates.  The  deed  was  signed  by  Passacon- 
away, the  Sagamon  of  Pennacook ;  Runnawit,  the  Chief  of  Paw- 
tucket;  Wahangnonawit,  the  Chief  of  Squamscot;  and  Rowls,  the 
Chief  of  Newichewannock,  and  properly  witnessed. 

Wheelwright  was  a  very  pious  and  ai/le  man,  residing  at  Brain- 
tree,  in  Massachusetts.  Endowed  with  a  generous  liberality  he 
resolved  to  overthrow  the  priestly  despotism  over  the  mind  and  break 
the  strong  shackles  which  bound  men  to  the  sway  of  bigotry.  Im- 
bued with  this  spirit  and  determination,  he  presently  encountered 
insurmountable  obstacles. 

"  Forefather'  s-day"  orators  (of  the  spread-eagle  genus) — those 
interested  and  disinterested,  informed,  misinformed,  and  uninformed, 
sometimes  the  wise,  and  oftentimes  the  otherwise — magnanimously 
declare  that  the  Puritans ,  moved  by  the  genuine  spirit  of  religious 
toleration,  fled  from  homes  endeared  to  them  by  the  associations  of 
a  lifetime  and  sought  the  wilds  of  America,  there  to  establish  on  an 
enduring  basis  the  great  fundamental  principle  of  freedom  which 
they  so  much  loved  and  had  sacrificed  so  much  to  maintain,  —  the 
principle  of  religious  toleration. 

The  opinion  seems  to  have  obtained  that  the  Puritans,  pained  and 
disgusted  with  the  blind  spirit  of  intolerance  of  religious  differences 
in  the  Old  World,  sought  the  New,  where,  with  the  power  in  their 
own  hands,  the  corner-stone  of  the  new  government  should  be  free- 
dom of  conscience,  and  this  immutable  principle  thus  preserved,  the 
Christian  millennium  should  come  in  America,  where  the  lions  of 
the  established  church  and  the  lambs  of  dissenting  faith  should  lie 
down  together,  and  only  the  little  child  of  Truth  should  lead  them. 

This  view  of  their  disposition,  judging  by  a  careful  and  unbiased 
examination  of  the  records  and  history  of  the  Puritans,  would  seem 
to  be  entirely  erroneous.  It  really  appears  that,  instead  of  being 
deprived  of  the  privilege  of  conscientious  worship,  they  left  the  old 
country  rather  because  they  could  not  persuade  or  restrain  their  fel* 


30  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

low-subjects  to  endorse  and  adopt  their  own  peculiar  religious  tenets. 
Thoroughly  convinced  and  honestly  believing,  without  doubt,  that 
theirs  was  the  only  true  faith,  it  was  sincerely  offensive  to  them  that 
men  should  repudiate  alike  themselves  and  their  creed;  that,  having 
embraced  a  heresy,  they  should  wilfully  persist  in  being  heretics  in 
spite  of  the  luminous  example,  and  the  powerful,  untiring,  and  con- 
vincing moral  suasion  of  the  dissenters.  But  so  it  was,  and  in  cast- 
ing about  for  some  consistent  and  efficient  means  to  remedy  the  moral 
obliquity  of  mankind,  it  would  seem  they  determined  to  locate  where 
they  would  have  the  power  to  apply  such  needed  and  wholesome 
restraints  as  the  natural  Perversity  and  frailty  of  the  human  mind 
required.  They  resolved  to  go  where  they  could  establish  a  miti- 
gated or  modified  form  of  inquisition,  —  where,  if  heretics  came,  or 
rose  up  among  them,  they  could  hurl  the  anathemas  of  the  church ; 
should  that  not  suffice,  they  could  even  subject  them  to  such  mild 
legal  discipline  as  whipping,  banishing,  cutting  off  ears,  and  hanging. 

All  of  these  punishments  and  many  others  have  been  inflicted  and 
endured  for  conscience'  sake  in  New  England.  (0  Religion  !  what 
cruelties  have  been  inflicted  in  thy  name !  How  many  monsters  and 
how  many  martyrs  have  been  seen  in  thy  holy  cause  !) 

Soon  after  the  consummation  of  the  Wheelwright  purchase  a  fierce 
and  violent  religious  controversy  broke  out,  creating  a  schism  among 
the  Puritans  of  Boston,  and  leading  to  an  open  rupture  in  the  State. 
They  were  all  dissenters,  but  the  dissenting  dissenters  were  called 
Antinomians :  the  latter  questioning  the  policy  and  disputing  the 
right  to  force  men  to  the  adoption  of  any  particular  religious  belief 
by  legislative  enactment,  declaring  that,  as  they  were  free  in  con- 
science, they  were  bound  in  religion  and  in  honor  to  maintain  the 
same  right  for  others,  whether  inside  or  out  of  the  close  corporation 
of  Puritanism.  The  Originals,  as  they  were  called,  in  other  words, 
the  primitive  Puritans,  while  they  declared  for  religious  freedom  and 
toleration,  practically  controverted  their  own  professions,  as  the  An- 
tinomians declared,  by  taking  the  ground  and  promulgating  first  the 
infallibility  of  their  own  creed  and  the  right  of  every  man  to  embrace 
the  truth.  Ergo,  all  who  worship  with  them  should  and  did  en- 
joy perfect  religious  freedom,  while  those  who  did  not,  deserved  and 
should  receive  condign  punishment.  Thus  will  be  seen  by  their 
own  showing  the  sum  of  Puritan  toleration. 


ITS  SOUECE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  31 

Meanwhile  the  contest  waxed  furious.  Wheelwright  and  his 
<sister  Ann  Hutchinson,  famous  for  her  great  intellectual  abilities 
and  persuasive  eloquence,  were  among  the  foremost  leaders  of  the 
Antinomians  in  this  memorable  theological  controversy,  and  all  con- 
ditions of  people  old  enough  to  engage  in  disputation  took  sides  pro 
and  con  in  the  contest.  The  gubernatorial  election  was  canvassed 
with  sleepless  energy,  and  with  all  the  acrimony  common  to  zealots. 
The  standard-bearers  were  Winthrop  and  Vane,  and  after  one  of 
those  heated  and  embittered  contests,  unknown  except  where  religion 
is  an  element,  Winthrop  was  elected.  The  legislature  immediately 
set  to  work  to  mete  out  merited  punishment  to  the  defeated  and  dis- 
pirited Antinomians.  Wheelwright  was  banished,  and  went,  with 
some  of  his  followers,  to  the  wilds  of  New  Hampshire,  where  he 
settled  on  his  previous  Indian  purchase  at  Exeter. 

Here  this  little  band  .of  exiles  formed  a  church,  and  established  a 
government,  which  may  be  considered  the  first  genuine  democratic 
form  of  government  ever  established  in  America.  The  rulers  were 
elected  by  the  people,  and  the  people  were  sworn  to  support  them ; 
all  laws  were  made  by  the  people  in  popular  assembly,  and  any  prov- 
ing a  public  evil  were  immediately  repealed  in  the  same  manner. 
Every  man  had  a  voice  in  the  government  under  which  he  lived ;  the 
source  of  all  power  was  vested  in  the  people  and  reserved  to  them. 

"  This  little  association  of  exiles  I  consider  to  be  the  first  institution 
of  government  in  New  Hampshire."  * 

The  sword  of  persecution  lopped  off  this  most  thrifty  scion  from 
the  parent  stock,  which,  transplanted  with  care  and  nurtured  by  the 
earnest  efforts  of  great  and  good  men,  has  grown  to  be  a  symmetrical 
and  majestic  tree,  affording  a  generous  shade  and  protection  to  the 
sovereign,  intelligent,  and  progressive  people  of  an  independent 
State. 

' '  Thus  the  motives  of  the  first  settlers  of  Exeter  were  in  har- 
mony with  democratic  principles  of  government.  They  were  exiles 
'  for  conscience' sake.'  They  came  to  the  wilderness  for  freedom; 
they  were  tried  in  the  school  of  misfortune ;  they  were  disciplined  by 
struggling  with  persecution.  Such  was  the  Exeter  settlement. 
Christianity  presided  at  its  birth  and  '  rocked  its  cradle.'  "f  "It  grew 
up  ;  it  put  forth  hands  with  increasing  strength,  and  displayed  in  its 

*Trumbull.  f  Bancroit. 


32  THE  MEEEIMACK  EIVER; 

form  the  beauty  of  youth ;  it  ripened  to  maturity ;  it  became  the 
State  of  New  Hampshire,  —  a  member  of  that  union  which  binda 
together  a  mighty  confederate  Kepublic."* 

A  union  having  afterwards  been  consummated  of  these  settlements 
with  Massachusetts,  and  the  latter  having  extended  her  jurisdiction 
over  them,  Wheelwright  was  no  longer  secure ;  he  fled  from  the 
power  of  his  persecutors,  and  located  at  Wells,  Maine.  In  the 
course  of  time  he  was  graciously  permitted  to  return,  which  he  did, 
to  Hampton,  where  he  resumed  his  ministry.  He  afterwards,  when 
Cromwell,  who  was  his  personal  friend  and  schooL-fellow,  was  in 
power,  went  to  England  and  obtained  an  audience.  Cromwell  recog- 
nized him  as  an  old  friend,  and  was  greatly  pleased  with  the  inter- 
view. Turning  to  the  gentlemen  about  him  the  protector  remarked, 
"I  remember  the  time  when  I  have  been  more  afraid  of  meeting 
Wheelwright  at  foot-ball  than  of  meeting .  any  army  since  in  the 
field." 

Wheelwright  found  himself  in  favor,  and  received  a  gratifying 
appointment.  After  the  restoration,  he  returned  to  New  England, 
and  died  in  1680,  being  upwards  of  eighty  years  of  age. 

Sometime  about  1660  a  frightful  and  fatal  delusion  broke  out 
among  the  New  Hampshire  and  Massachusetts  colonists,  which  was 
known  as  witchcraft. 

Persons,  principally  old  women,  it  was  believed,  colluded  with  the 
devil,  by  which  the  demoniac  qualities  and  powers  of  his  satanic 
majesty  were  imparted  to  them,  enabling  them  to  appear  in  strange, 
fantastic  shapes  to  the  terror-stricken  community,  such  as  flying 
through  the  air  astride  of  a  broomstick  ;  appearing  unexpectedly  in 
unusual  places  in  the  form  of  a  black  cat  or  some  other  animal,  also 
in  many  unaccountable  guises ;  possessing  the  power  to  disappear  and 
reappear  at  will  through  key-holes,  knot-holes,  and  other  impossible 
apertures,  as  well  as  to  afflict  any  person  in  the  community  at  pleasure 
with  strange  maladies,  such  as  fits  and  painful  contortions  of  the 
body,  burns,  chills,  callousness, choking  sensations,  —  in  short,  a  thou- 
sand and  one  maladies  that  flesh  is  not  properly  heir  to,  and  which  the 
most  scientific  disciples  of  Galen  could  neither  remedy  nor  relieve. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  senseless  and  unreasoning  frenzy  which  per- 
vaded all  classes  on  this  subject,  one  of  the  witch  trials  at  Portsmouth 

*  Barstow. 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  33 

may  be  given,  and  it  may  also  serve  as  a  curious  relic  of  an  epoch  of  fa- 
naticism in  our  history,  for  the  contemplation  of  a  more  enlightened 
posterity.  Good- wife  Wai  ford  was  brought  before  the  court,  on  the 
accusation  of  Susannah  Trimmings,  who  was  the  first  witness,  and 
testified  as  follows  :  — 

"  As  I  was  going  home  on  Sunday  night,  I  heard  a  rustling  in  the 
woods,  which  I  supposed  to  be  occasioned  by  swine,  and  presently 
there  appeared  a  woman,  whom  I  apprehended  to  be  old  Good- wife 
Walford  ;  she  asked  me*  to  lend  her  a  pound  of  cotton  ;  I  told  her  I 
had  but  two  pounds  in  the  house,  and  I  would  not  spare  any  to  my 
mother  ;  she  said  I  had  better  have  done  it,  for  I  was  going  a  great 
journey,  but  should  never  come  there. 

"  She  then  left  me,  and  I  was  struck  as  with  a  clap  of  fire  on  the 
back,  and  she  vanished  towards  the  water-side,  in  my  apprehension  in 
the  shape  of  a  cat.  She  had  on  her  head  a  white  linen  hood  tied  under 
her  chin,  and  her  waistcoat  and  petticoat  were  red,  with  an  old  gown, 
apron,  and  a  black  hat  upon  her  head." 

Her  husband,  Oliver  Trimmings,  was  then  called  and  said  :  "  My 
wife  came  home  in  a  sad  condition ;  she  passed  by  me  with  her  child 
in  her  arms,  laid  the  child  on  the  bed,  sat  down  on  the  chest,  and 
leaned  upon  her  elbow.  Three  times  I  asked  her  how  she  did ;  she 
could  not  speak.  I  took  her  in  my  arms  and  held  her  up,  and  repeated 
the  question  ;  she  forced  breath,  and  something  stopped  in  her  throat 
as  if  it  would  have  stopped  her  breath.  I  unlaced  her  clothes,  and 
soon  she  spoke,  and  said,  l  Lord,  have  mercy  upon  me  ;  this  wicked 
woman  will  kill  me ;'  I  asked  what  woman ;  she  said,  '  Good- wife 
Walford.'  I  tried  to  persuade  her  it  was  only  her  weakness ;  she  told 
me  no,  and  related  as  above,  that  her  back  was  a  flame  of  fire,  her 
lower  parts  were,  as  it  were,  without  feeling.  I  pinched  her  and  she 
felt  not.  She  continued  that  night,  and  the  day  and  night  follow- 
ing, very  ill,  and  is  still  bad  of  her  limbs,  and  complains  still  daily 
of  it." 

Nicholas  Rowe  made  oath  as  follows :  — 

"Jane   Walford,   shortly  after  she   was   accused,  came   to  the 

deponent  in  bed  in  the  evening,  and  put  her  hand  upon  his  breast,  so 

that  he  could  not  speak,  and  was  in  great  pain  until  the  next  day. 

By  the  light  of  the  fire  in  the  next  room  it  appeared  to  be  Goody 

5 


84  THE  MERE  I  MACK  11IVER ; 

Walford,  but  she  did  not  speak  ;  she  repeated  her  visit  about  a  week 
after,  and  did  as  before,  but  said  nothing." 

Eliza  Barton  testified  that  she  "  saw  Susannah  Trimmings  at  the 
time  she  was  ill,  and  her  face  was  colored  and  spotted  with  several 
colors;  she  told  the  deponent  the  story,  who  replied,  that  it  was 
nothing  but  fantasy;  her  eyes  looked  as  if  they  had  been  scald." 

John  Puddington,  the  next  witness,  made  oath  that  "  three  years 
since  Good-wife  Walford  came  to  his  mother's  ;  she  said  that  her  own 
husband  called  her  an  old  witch ;  and  when  she  came  to  her  cattle,  her 
own  husband  would  bid  her  begone,  for  she  did  overlook  the  cattle, 
which  is  as  much  as  to  say  in  our  country  bewitching." 

With  respect  to  the  character  of  the  testimony  that  is  given  in  this 
case,  it  is  believed  to  be  in  sense  and  pertinence  above  the  average  of 
evidence  given  in  those  cases  where  persons  were  convicted  of  the 
atrocious  crime  of  witchcraft.  Although  no  person  suffered  the 
extreme  penalty  of  the  law  in  New  Hampshire  for  it,  still  this 
dismal  episode  in  her  history  would  arrest  the  attention  of  its  student, 
and  furnish  a  most  gloomy  repast,  only  that  the  same  era  in  the 
history  of  a  sister  State  exhibits  a  catalogue  of  judicial  crimes  which 
totally  eclipses  the  comparatively  mild  form  of  this  nondescript  malady 
in  Portsmouth  and  neighboring  settlements. 

In  many  places,  Topsfield,  Andover,  and  especially  Salem,  in 
Massachusetts,  the  virulence  of  this  disease  threatened  to  combine  the 
dire  results  of  those  unwelcome  triple  guests,  war,  pestilence,  and 
famine.  Accusations  were  hurled  against  the  youthful,  the  harmless, 
ancj,  the  unsuspecting ;  indictment  and  arraignment  followed  close 
upon  their  track  with  the  activity  of  a  well-trained  hound,  and  to  be 
accused  was  synonymous  with  conviction.  As  in  the  case  of  every 
popular  heresy,  reason  was  deaf,  and  justice  was  deaf  as  well  as  blind. 
No  cross-examination  and  no  defence  were  permitted ;  the  bulwarks  of 
justice  and  protection  seemed  to  have  been  carried  away  by  the 
violence  of  the  popular  tempest. 

Ministers  of  the  gospel  precipitated  the  weight  of  their  character 
and  influence  into  the  seething  caldron  of  unparalleled  madness. 
Judges  on  the  bench  permitted  and  united  in  the  jeers,  taunts, 
epithets,  and  clamor  of  the  spectators  against  the  defenceless  prisoner, 
instead  of  restraining  them.  In  some  instances,  the  prisoner,  appalled 
by  the  terrible  character  of  the  charge  preferred,  knowing  the  power 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  35 

of  evidence  which  intimated  much,  though  it  proved  nothing,  and 
feeling  assured  that  certain  conviction  awaited  him,  whatever  the 
charge  might  be,  pleaded  guilty;  and,  however  strong  the  evi- 
dence and  proof  of  witchcraft  against  the  unfortunate  prisoner,  con- 
trary to  the  rule  founded  on  antiquity  and  common  sense  of  convicting 
the  prisoner  on  his  own  free  and  voluntary  admission  of  guilt  in  open 
court,  was  invariably  acquitted.  Detectives  w,ere  employed,  whose 
business  it  was  to  ferret  out  among  the  obscure,  lowly,  and  unprotected 
.of  the  community  cases  of  malignant  and  incipient  witchcraft,  whose 
emoluments  depended  wholly  or  partially  on  conviction.  That  these 
individuals  would  not  be  overscrupulous  the  experience  acquired  in 
the  employment  of  similar  agents  in  the  enforcement  of  obnoxious 
modern  legislation  sufficiently  demonstrates.  There  was  no  such 
offence  known  as  perjury ;  malice  could  do  its  worst  with  impunity; 
no  allowance  was  made  for  mistaken  identity,  in  seeing,  hearing,  or 
memory ;  the  prisoner  was  considered  guilty  until  proved  innocent, 
and  all  else  failing  to  convict,  the  judges  often  sought  to  entrap 
him  into  damaging  admissions. 

The  community  furnished  victims,  and  the  officers  of  the  law, 
instead  of  seeing  that  "  equal  and  exact  justice  "  was  done,  conspired 
with  them  in  the  horrid  sacrifice,  and  in  Salem  alone  upwards  of  a 
score  of  persons  suffered  execution  for  offences  which  reason  declares 
they  never  had  the  power  to  commit.  So  it  went  on,  without  any 
perceptible  abatement  of  the  disease  or  diminution  of  the  number  of 
its  victims,  until  accusations  were  made  against  persons  of  wealth, 
standing,  and  influence ;  doubtless  by  some  person  who  had  the  sagacity 
to  discover  that  this  was  the  only  feasible  method  of  checking  the 
delirium.  This  had  the  desired  effect,  —  the  spell  was  broken,  the 
disease  abated,  and  was  finally  cured. 

Such  is  a  faint  outline  of  witchcraft.  Ignorance  and  superstition 
were  probably  its  corner-stone ;  mental  and  nervous  affections  were 
undoubtedly  superinduced,  which  inflamed  and  intensified  the  malady, 
removing  the  bounds  to  its  contagion  and  the  limits  to  its  fatality. 
Witchcraft  may,  perhaps,  be  regarded  as  an  appropriate  interlude 
between  the  great  moral  drama  of  "  Puritanism  rampant  "  and  the 
tragic  after-piece  of  desolating  Indian  wars. 

That  it  would  be  desirable  to  cover  this  period  in  the  history  of 
our  country  and  race  with  the  pall  of  oblivion,  no  one  will  question ; 


86  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER, 

it  is  true  they  have  the  mitigating  circumstance  of  ignorance  to  plead 
in  extenuation  of  their  folly,  and  perhaps  the  future  historian  may 
kindly  veil  their  faults  and  shortcomings  with  the  mantle  of  charity 
when  he  contrasts  the  flimsy  fanaticism  of  that  dark  age  with  more 
expensive  and  fatal  displays  of  this  ungovernable  element  by  a  people 
elevated  and  enlightened  by  the  experience  of  two  hundred  years, 
above  the  condition  of,  their  deluded  and  misguided  ancestry. 

Having  briefly  glanced  at  the  character  of  the  soil,  climate,  and 
productions,  also  the  aboriginal  inhabitants,  as  well  as  the  immigrant 
settlers,  and  likewise  having  noticed  the  discovery  of  the  American 
continent  and  of  New  Hampshire,  noting  on  the  record  of  events  the 
discovery  of  the  Merrimack  River,  referring  only  incidentally  to  subse- 
quent events,  it  remains  but  to  observe  how  each  successive  wave  of 
colonization  rolled  back  farther  and  farther  from  the  rock-bound  coast ; 
how  the  steadily  increasing  population  swarmed  through  the  forests 
and  over  the  hill- tops,  meeting  and  overcoming  in  their  resolute 
advance  a  frowning  wilderness  filled  with  hostile  foes,  and  leaving 
behind  them,  in  their  resistless  and  triumphant  march,  a  reclaimed 
and  blooming  territory,  blessed  with  a  government  of  laws  and  not 
of  men,  nor  even  yet  of  mere  brute  force,  until  they  reached  the 
eastern  bank  of  this  noble  stream,  forming  an  unbroken  cordon  of 
this  improved  pattern  of  humanity,  extending  from  its  mouth  along 
the  Merrimack  far  up  among  the  mountains  towards  its  source. 

When  the  stalwart  and  hardy  pioneers  approached  the  Merrimack, 
they  found  the  giant  forest-trees  still  casting  their  shadows  upon 
its  bright  waters  as  they  had  done  for  ages  past ;  they  found  the 
dusky  barbarians  flitting  like  birds  of  evil  omen  about  the  dark  and 
secluded  dells  and  gloomy  recesses  of  the  woods,  or  shooting  out  noise- 
lessly from  obscure  pools  and  eddies  upon  the  broad  bosom  of  this 
stream  in  the  primitive  birch  canoe,  or  vainly  endeavoring  to  excel 
their  rival,  the  beaver,  in  skill  and  dexterity,  in  the  construction  of 
dams,  or  "stopping-places"  for  securing  fish.  They  found  the 
Merrimack  rolling  towards  the  sea  as  it  had  done  for  all  time,  and 
will  continue  to  do  forever,  —  and  they  found  a  prize.  Here  on  this 
river's  brink,  civilization  and  barbarism  met,  —  light  and  darkness, — 
day  and  night  struggling  for  the  mastery ;  and  who  could  doubt  the 
result  ?  On  the  one  hand  was  the  rude,  untutored  child  of  nature, 
with  no  higher  aspirations  than  to  follow  withersoever  she  led,  in  all 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS   TEIBUT ABIES.  37 

respects  only  her  simple  child ;  while  on  the  other,  appeared  her 
stern  and  determined  master,  compelling  her  to  yield  of  her  generous 
but  yet  unmeasured  bounty  a  supply  for  all  his  wants  and  comforts. 

Civilization  found  this  beautiful  river,  with  its  expansive  border 
of  timber  and  fuel  trees  only  useless  cumberers  of  the  ground  ;  the 
broad,  alluvial  intervals  untilled  and  unproductive  except  in  malaria, 
noxious  weeds,  and  venomous  reptiles;  the  numberless  waterfalls 
along  its  course  and  that  of  its  many  tributaries  entirely  unimproved ; 
the  great  and  now  famous  places,  such  as  Pawtucket  and  Namoskeag, 
a  desert  waste,  —  those  unsurpassed  water-powers  being  simply 
Indian  eel-pots,  —  while  the  pellucid  current  of  the  river  itself  was 
but  a  highway  or  thoroughfare  for  migratory  tribes  of  fishes,  and 
roving,  unsettled  tribes  of  savages, — a  kind  of  grand  trunk  road 
connecting  with  the  great  principal  trails  at  the  grand  junction,  the 
Winnipesaukee,  leading  from  Maine  and  the  provinces,  down  through 
New  Hampshire,  to  the  confederate  tribes  located  upon  its  lower 
waters  in  Massachusetts. 

They  found  this  beautiful  river  stretching  its  magnificent  propor- 
tions from  the  convocation  of  towering,  cloud-capped  summits  on  the 
north,  directly  through  the  centre  of  New  Hampshire,  dividing  the 
State  into  two  nearly  equal  parts,  pouring  over  the  border  and  roll- 
ing on  through  a  considerable  extent  of  the  sister  State  of  Massachu- 
setts; there  dropping  the  generous  tribute  of  its  collected  waters  into  the 
broad  bosom  of  the  mighty  deep ;  and  they  recognized  in  the  quality 
of  transparent  and  unsurpassed  purity  which  it  possessed  the  ele- 
ments of  health  and  beauty.  In  the  majestic  falls  they  discerned  a 
mine  of  wealth  richer  that  Ophir,  and  as  enduring  and  inexhaustible 
as  time  itself.  In  the  liberal  volume  of  its  current  they  saw  there 
was  a  mighty  power,  which,  under  efficient  management  and  control, 
was  sufficient  to  force  away  the  incubus  which  hung  upon  the  water 
and  the  land,  and  whirl  the  wheels  of  progress  and  prosperity  with 
busy,  pleasant  hum. 

The  first  partial  survey  of  the  Merrimack  River  disclosing  its 
inestimable  value  and  importance  for  manufacturing  purposes,  it  may, 
perhaps,  be  said,  cast  the  die.  From  this  time  forth  the  red  man 
made  his  compulsory  bow  to  the  inexorable  logic  of  events,  and  facing 
westward  with  steady  advance,  —  his  speed  frequently  accelerated 
by  the  uncomfortable  and  dangerous  proximity  of  his  exterminator,  * 


38  THE  MEEEIMACK  EIVEE ; 

his  last  remaining  hope  being  to  reach  the  land  of  sunset,  —  he  left 
this  river  and  this  land,  the  home  of  his  boyhood  and  his  manhood, 
his  only  patrimony,  the  sacred  resting-place  of  ancestral  'dust,  the 
pleasant  and  endearing  associations  of  time,  places  and  events, 
records  and  traditions,  the  old  familiar  haunts  of  his  people ;  above 
all  of  which,  lacerating  his  obdurate  heart  and  filling  his  benighted 
soul  with  pangs  before  unfelt,  was  being  forced  and  torn,  as  it  were, 
from  these  places  which  afforded  him  his  chiefest  pleasure  and  his 
food,  —  "The  smile  of  the  Great  Spirit ; "  "  The  beautiful  waters  of 
the  high  place ;  "  "  The  crooked  mountain  waters  ;  "  and  "  The  beauti- 
ful island  river  with  the  bright,  strong  current  and  pebbly  bottom/' 

But  it  was  useless  for  him  to  struggle  against  the  immutable 
decree  of  fate,  and  so  he  left  all  of  these  ;  the  sceptre  of  his  wilder- 
ness empire  fell  from  his  grasp,  his  crown  crumbled,  his  ancient 
power  and  hereditary  rule  and  supreme  kingly  prerogative  were 
stripped  from  him,  and  he  was  sent  forth  a  beggar,  an  outcast,  and  a 
vagabond,  to  be  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land. 

Thus  departed  the  aboriginal  proprietor,  while  the  march  of 
intellect,  enterprise,  skill,  industry,  and  progress  amply  supplied 
his  place.  Solitude  no  longer  reigned  supreme,  or  brooded  over 
river,  hill,  and  dale;  the  vigorous  stroke  of  the  woodman's  axe 
resounded  through  the  forest ;  roads  were  made ;  the  log-house  and 
the  school-house  sprang  into  existence  almost  together;  the  little 
church  reared  its  tapering  spire  as  if  pointing  out  to  sinful  man  the 
way  to  heaven,  to  God ;  the  saw-mill  creaked  and  grated  in  harsh, 
unmusical  cadence  in  many  localities  along  the  lesser  tributaries  of 
the  Merrimack ;  hamlets  grew  to  be  villages,  and  villages  towns. 
Skill,  labor,  and  capital,  that  all-powerful  triumvirate,  united  their 
fortune  and  interest  for  the  mutual  benefit  of  all  concerned,  and, 
with  industry  under  intelligent  direction  for  manager,  pushed 
steadily  up  the  river,  dispensing  wealth  on  every  hand,  and  building 
cities,  tilling  and  fertilizing  the  soil,  reclaiming  the  rich,  alluvial 
intervals,  while  even  the  waste  places  of  rocks  and  swamps  and  sand 
were  their  most  fruitful  vineyards.  Cities,  and  enterprises  involving 
the  employment  of  millions  of  capital  and  multitudes  of  people, 
sprung  up,  as  if  by  magic.  Every  valley  and  hill  within  the  radius  of 
this  river's  salutary  influence  produced  its  complement  of  beautiful 
and  noble  women,  as  well  as  great,  good,  and  brave  men;  and  this 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  39 

river  gave  to  the  manufacturers  along  its  course  an  opulence  of  fame 
for  the  unequalled  variety,  quality  and  value,  which  is  the  property 
and  just  pride  of  the  nation. 

Let  us  endeavor,  then,  to  realize  something  of  the  independence 
and  affluence  of  the  people  of  New  England,  to  which  this  river  has 
so  generously  contributed ;  observe  and  note  the  prosperity  and  ad- 
vancement of  these  two  States  in  intelligence  and  in  all  the  elements 
of  material  greatness,  and  inquire  what  portion  of  it  has  been  con- 
tributed by,  or  is  due  to,  the  unparalleled  capacity  and  usefulness 
of  the  Merrimack  River,  and  how  much  of  benefit  these  people  may 
confidently  hope  and  expect  to  derive  steadily  and  perpetually  here* 
after  from  its  unstinted,  unabated,  and  inexhaustible  munificence. 


40  THE  MEBEIMACE  EIVER; 


CHAPTER    II. 

The  Pemigewasset.  — Mountains  in  Summer.  — In  Winter.  — Source  of  the  Merrimack.  — 
Method  of  taking  Salmon  and  Trout.  — Franconia  Notch.  — Echo  Lake.  — The  Flume. 
—  The  "  Old  Man  of  the  Mountain." 

THE  Pemigewasset  is  the  name  of  the  principal  stream  which,  at 
the  forks  in  Franklin,  takes  the  name  of  the  Merrimack.  This  is  a 
corruption  of  the  Indian  word  Pemegewasset,  signifying  "the  crooked 
mountain-pine  place,"  from  Pennaquis  (crooked),  wadchu  (a  moun- 
tain), cooash  (pine),  and  auke  (a  place).  By  the  adoption  of  this 
name  the  Merrimack  was  to  that  extent  curtailed  and  shorn  of  its 
fair  proportions,  for  substantially  it  is  the  same  river  in  every  re- 
spect. It  seems,  then,  not  only  a  geographical  outrage,  but  really 
a  deliberate  attempt  to  belittle  this  lovely  river  by  requiring  a  large 
section  of  it  to  bear  another  name ;  however,  as  ' '  the  rose  by  any 
other  name  would  smell  as  sweet,"  so  the  Merrimack;  call  it  what 
you  please,  is  the  same  most  important  stream,  the  same  beautiful 
and  transparent  water,  the  same  pride,  and  honor,  and  glory  of  the 
State  and  of  New  England.  It  stands  pre-eminent,  and  without  a 
parallel  the  greatest  manufacturing  river  in  the  civilized  world. 

Not  only  does  this  stream  attract  the  notice  and  attention  of  the 
capitalist,  the  mechanic,  the  farmer,  and  the  speculator,  but  its  pic- 
turesque and  romantic  beauty,  the  wonderful  physical  phenomena, 
spread  out  from  its  pellucid  bosom,  attract  the  attention  of  the  man 
of  leisure,  the  tourist,  the  student  and  admirer  of  nature,  and  even 
the  true  sportsman,  who  finds  in  this  river  and  in  the  numberless 
tributaries,  large  and  small,  and  in  the  fields  and  the  magnificent 
forests  stretching  away  for  many  miles,  a  great  abundance  and  end- 
less variety  of  fish  and  game,  and,  above  all  else,  occasion  and  cause 
to  offer  up  a  spontaneous  tribute  of  admiration  to  the  great  Author 
of  all  these  wonders  and  beauties  and  blessings. 

The  Merrimack  River  cannot  boast  of  the  gigantic  size  of  the 
Amazon,  the  Mississippi,  or  the  St.  Lawrence,  nor  of  the  white 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS   TRIBUTARIES.  41 

¥ings  of  commerce  spread  upon  its  bosom,  nor  is  it  a  vast  stream  of 
fJthy  fluid  upon  which  thousands  are  transported  daily  by  means 
of  high-pressure  engines ;  but  it  is  believed  to  be  one  of  the  most 
conspicuous  illustrations  in .  the  whole  range  of  nature  of  a  grand 
and  generous  combination  of  the  useful  and  ornamental.  This  river 
is  nearly  two  hundred  and  sixty  miles  long  by  its  course,  and  is 
peculiarly  symmetrical  in  its  entire  extent ;  its  waters  are  naturally 
incomparably  pure  and  transparent ;  and  its  whole  career,  from  the 
towering  mountains  where  it  takes  its  rise,  to  the  boundless  ocean,  is 
a  continual  succession  of  silver  cascades,  sparkling  ripples,  broad, 
calm,  mirror-like  waters,  or  romantic,  majestic,  and  useful  water- 
falls. 

The  principal  value  of  this  river  is  centred  in  its  grand  falls  or 
mill  privileges,  which  in  the  main  stream  and  very  many  of  its  tribu- 
taries are  qiite  numerous. 

Although  it  has  been  said  truly  that  these  falls  give  the  Merri- 
mack  its  principal  importance,  still  it  by  no  means  comprehends  its 
complete  list  of  capabilities  or  usefulness ;  for,  in  addition  to  the 
many  and  various  other  purposes  for  which  it  is  used,  nearly  ten 
million  feet  of  round  lumber  are  annually  carried  by  this  convenient 
highway  beyond  the  limits  of  the  State,  in  addition  to  what  is  moved 
from  the  timber  section  to  intermediate  places  in  the  State,  there  to 
be  wrought  and  fashioned  by  the  buzzing  saw  and  keen-edged  plane, 
aided  by  busy  and  cunning  hands,  into  every  description  of  building 
stock,  and  useful  and  ornamental  wood- work  of  every  conceivable 
variety.  Thus  it  may  be  said  that  this  river  presents  that  rare  com- 
bination of  use  and  attractiveness  along  its  whole  course  which  ren- 
ders it,  par  excellence,  the  most  magnificent  stream  in  the  world. 
Other  rivers  have  their  grand  and  remarkable  features,  famous  falls, 
sublime  to  look  upon,  even  grand  beyond  description ;  but  here  the 
record  of  their  qualities  terminates.  Others  receive  the  homage  due 
to  their  enormous  size,  and,  though  ships  may  spread  their  canvas 
on  their  surface,  still  their  waters  are  a  sort  of  filthy  mud  gruel  in 
appearance  and  consistence,  and  are,  besides,  throughout  their  whole 
extent  an  insatiate  graveyard,  —  a  paradise  for  alligators. 

Of  the  great  rivers  of  the  world  the  St.  Lawrence  is  unques- 
tionably the  purest,  the  most  picturesque  and  romantic,  and  conveys, 
perhaps,  the  largest  tribute  to  the  never-sated  ocean ;  but  here  its 

6 


42  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

excellences  end;  for,  aside  from  being  an  outlet  for  accumulated 
waters,  and  a  highway  for  an  occasional  shipload  of  immigrants  from 
the  Old  World,  and  a  conveyance  for  lumber,  it  is  entirely  value- 
less, and  worse.  It  necessitates  an  outlay  for  protection  from  floods 
and  ice,  expensive  bridges,  and  the  employment  of  a  large  number 
of  that  unprofitable,  unproductive,  and  expensive  class  known  as 
soldiers. 

How  different  it  is  with  the  beautiful  Merrirnack!  —  rolling  along 
between  its  natural  banks  without  encroachment,  affording  sites  for 
cities,  factories,  and  shops,  dispensing  wealth  on  every  hand,  giving 
employment,  and,  consequently,  health,  character,  and  happiness  to 
many  thousands  who  are  employed  in  the  peaceful  pursuits  which 
tend  to  carry  a  high  civilization,  comfort,  and  happiness  to  the  re- 
motest lands ;  and  the  high  order  of  intelligence,  skill,  progress,  and 
prosperity  attained  by  the  thriving  communities  along  tae  course  of 
this  stream  may  be  in  part  attributed  to  its  unparalleled  usefulness. 

Nor  is  this  its  only  merit.  From  the  time  when  the  first  hardy 
pioneer  set  his  foot  upon  this  rock-ribbed  soil,  and  set  a  stern  face 
towards  the  unbroken  wilderness  and  its  inhabitants,  this  river  is 
commingled  with  its  history  as  with  the  ocean  itself,  and  has  full 
many  of  those  daring  deeds,  and  terrible  slaughters,  and  fearful  tor- 
tures, and  hair-breadth  escapes,  which  entitle  its  contiguous  territory 
most  emphatically  to  the  distinctive  appellation  of  the  "Dark  and 
Bloody  Ground." 

As  will  be  seen,  history  has  had  much  dealing  with  this  river,  and 
it  has  been  celebrated  in  story  and  song ;  and,  though  much  has 
been  said  of  it  in  so  many  ways  by  so  many  admiring  people,  still 
its  incomparable  beauty  and  value  are,  if  not  unknown,  certainly  not 
appreciated  to  the  fullest  extent  even  yet.  It  does  not  appear  that 
the  Indians  had  any  regular  and  permanent  settlement  at  the  head- 
waters of  the  Merrimack,  although  it  was  in  the  direct  thoroughfare 
between  the  tribes  of  Massachusetts,  the  lower  Merrimack,  and 
Canada. 

The  Pennacooks  and  confederate  tribes  traversed  this  region  con- 
stantly from  Massachusetts  to  the  St.  Francis  country,  often 
lounging  about  the  head-waters  of  the  Androscoggin  and  the 
Connecticut,  where  it  may  be  said  they  maintained  permanent 
settlements,  and  kept  in  this  manner  and  in  this  direction  a  line 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  43 

of  retreat  open,  for  such  emergencies  as  frequently  arose,  down 
towards  the  sea. 

The  upper  waters  of  the  Merrimack  were,  no  doubt,  a  sort  of  cache, 
or  perhaps  hotel,  where,  in  the  fastnesses  of  Franconia,  in  the  almost 
impenetrable  seclusion  of  the  mountains  and  the  wilderness,  they 
could  rest  from  the  weary  march,  and  from  the  Pemigewasset  and 
the  forest  procure  such  sustenance  as  they  desired. 

Having  thus  obtained  a  glimpse  of  the  red  man's  Merrimack,  let 
us  see  what  it  is  to  the  pale-face. 

This  river  has  its  source  high  up  among  the  mountains,  in  the 
very  heart  of  the  most  romantic  country  that  human- eyes  ever  feasted 
on.  Mountains  are  thrown  together  in  promiscuous  confusion,  of  all 
shapes  and  sizes,  —  exaggerated  haystacks  and  gigantic  pyramids. 
Some  of  them  remarkably  symmetrical  and  clothed  in  luxuriant  for- 
ests, completely  enveloped  in  a  dense,  rich  foliage ;  others  seamed 
and  scarred,  displaying  unquestioned  proof  of  the  ravages  of  time  and 
the  elements  ]  others  still,  rear  their  naked  and  bald  summits  far  up 
among  the  clouds,  where  their  furrowed  and  jagged  pinnacles  exhibit 
a  poverty  of  vegetation,  not  a  shrub  or  a  blade  of  grass  to  redeem 
it  from  total  and  utter  desolation. 

In  midsummer  a  tour  among  these  everlasting  hills  is  an  inde- 
scribable treat  to  any  one ;  but  to  the  lover  of  nature,  to  him  who 
worships  in  spirit  and  in  truth  in  the  majestic  temple  of  the  Almighty, 
it  is  a  pleasure  whose  depth  and  breadth  cannot  be  gauged ;  for 
here,  spread  out  before  him  like  a  sermon,  are  the.  wonderful  power, 
the  greatness,  and  the  glory  of  God.  Here  is  no  costly  edifice,  with 
a  solemn,  gray  old  man  to  wait  on  strangers ;  no  tapestried  pulpit, 
with  tinsel  ornaments  and  tassels ;  and  no  grand  organ,  with  a  mas- 
ter to  move  the  keys.  Here  is  the  grand  proscenium  of  the  throne 
of  the  Great  Jehovah ;  the  curtain  is  raised,  and  he  who  worships 
here  walks  boldly  in,  unushered  and  unannounced  save  by  his  own 
affinity.  Here  the  sermon  comes  to  all  the  senses  from  the  emphatic, 
comprehensive  and  persuasive  tongue  of  nature.  No  salaried  cler- 
gyman shows  off  his  college  polish  in  rounded  periods;  but  thf 
rocks,  the  rippling  waters,  the  great  forest-trees,  all  the  surround- 
ings, —  in  short,  everything  proclaims  the  eloquent  and  impressive 
sermon  of  God  in  words  of  undoubted  definition ;  while  the  babbling 
brooks,  the  rushing  torrents,  and  the  gentle  gales,  sweeping  through 


44  THE  MERRIMACK  HIVER; 

the  wide-spreading  branches  of  the  trees,  all  combine  to  sing  His 
praise. 

What  a  glorious  place  of  worship  is  this  for  those  whose  limited 
means  exclude  them  from  the  fashionable  churches ! 

Here  there  is  no  animadversion  on  dress,  or  ambiguous  reference 
to  taste.  The  Divine  Presence  effectually  excludes  any  and  all  un- 
worthy feelings,  preparing  the  mind  properly  to  commune  with  the 
Eternal. 

Having  stood  in  the  midst  of  these  sublime  surroundings,  under  a 
genial  sun,  when  the  whole  face  of  nature  presents  its  most  beautiful 
and  inviting  appearance ;  when  the  laughing  waters  sport  in  the 
bright  sunlight,  and  the  boundless  forests  are  dressed  in  their  full 
and  lovely  emerald  foliage,  and  the  health-giving  and  refreshing 
breezes  sweep  down  from  the  north,  cooling  the  fevered  brain  and 
quieting  the  overtaxed  nerves,  —  having  seen  and  enjoyed  all  this,  it 
may  not  be  uninteresting  or  unprofitable  to  reverse  the  picture. 
Although  the  view  in  summer  is  so  indescribably  grand,  it  may  be 
truly  said  that  whoever  has  not  seen  the  mountains  in  midwinter  will 
surely  fail  to  realize  the  awful  grandeur  of  these  great  realms  of 
solitude. 

Approaching  the  .mountain  regions,  a  superabundance  of  snow  is 
seen  on  every  hand,  —  the  country,  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  being 
one  vast,  unsullied  common,  the  snow  being  so  deep  that  the  top 
rock  on  a  wayside  wall  is,  like  an  honest  man,  a  rare  sight.  Near- 
ing  the  mountains,  the  mind  is  forcibly  struck,  annoyed,  and  irri- 
tated with  the  awful  silence  which  now  supremely  reigns.  Arrayed 
in  robes  of  spotless  purity  from  crown  to  base,  these  unstained 
mounds  appear  like  whited  sepulchres ;  no  man  nor  living  thing 
invades  their  frigid  quiet. 

Standing  in  moody  and  solemn  grandeur,  these  towering  cones 
glitter  in  the  pure  sunlight,  and  seem,  by  some  indefinable  fascination, 
to  allure  unthoughtful  mortals  to  their  doom.  Were  the  prince  of 
the  powers  of  darkness  enthroned  on  these  inhospitable  and  glitter- 
ing pinnacles,  his  empire  could  not  be  more  secure  from  intrusion 
than  is  that  of  the  king^  of  frost,  aided  by  his  most  efficient  ally,  old 
Boreas,  whose  cheeks,  it  would  seem,  must  ultimately  crack  by 
reason  of  continuous  distension.  Silence  and  desolation  reign  su- 
preme throughout  these  empires  of  solitude  ;  and  it  would  seem  as 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  45 

if  the  Almighty  had  here  erected  an  impassable  barrier  to  the  con- 
taminating contact  of  man  with  this  bright  and  beautiful  land  of 
gloom.  The  fearful  stillness  of  death  broods  over  all.  The  very 
view  of  this  glittering  but  ghastly  territory  is  frightful,  and  man 
avoids  it  as  he  would  the  deadly  shade  of  the  poisonous  Upas. 
Even  the  wild  beasts  of  the  forests  creep  stealthily  around  the 
frozen  base  of  this  polar  Malakoff,  not  caring  or  daring  to  risk  a 
conflict  with  a  foe  so  formidable  and  invincible ;  and  the  hardiest 
wild  bird  shrinks  away  down  into  the  thickest  and  best  protected 
forest,  or  plunges  boldly  under  the  snow  to  escape  the  marrow-chill- 
ing breath  of  the  dread  monarch  of  this  land  of  terror  and  lone- 
liness. 

High  over  all,  at  times,  the  cold,  gray  sky  looks  down  without  a 
sign  of  relenting ;  while  the  atmosphere,  misty  with  frosty  distilla- 
tions, or  clear  and  rarefied,  penetrates  to  the  very  vitals,  biting  like 
a  beaver  and  cutting  like  a  Damascus  blade.  At  other  times,  the 
wild,  angry  clouds  roll  up  in  dense,  dark  masses,  enveloping  the 
glistening  summits  in  their  angry  folds,  while  the  winds  howl  fiercely 
arid  roar  savagely  through  the  deep  and  yawning  chasms,  as  the 
hurricane  tears  along  the  boundless  waste  of  ocean.  Then  comes 
the  snow,  fine  and  thick,  sweeping  in  great  waves  along  the  moun- 
tain-side, even  far  out  upon  the  plain,  penetrating  every  nook  and 
crevice,  whirling  high  in  air,  then  rolling  down  in  thick  masses 
resembling  a  mighty  avalanche,  then,  turning  back,  apparently  as- 
sumes a  host  of  strange,  fantastic  shapes,  reclimbs  the  rugged,  dizzy 
height,  there  again  to  be  taken  in  the  arms  of  a  still  more  gigantic 
bloiv,  and  hurled  with  lightning  speed  far  away,  and  scattered  over 
the  land.  Thus  is  another  spread  placed  on  these  sleeping  giants. 
The  winds  abate  to  a  dismal  moan,  then  sadly  sigh  through  the 
wide-spreading  branches  of  leafless  forests,  and  die  away  to  silence, 
while  night  and  the  cold,  round,  silver  moon  together  roll  upon  the 
scene,  intensifying  its  frightful  polar  horror. 

The  Merrimack  River  has  its  extreme  northern  source  in  the 
Willey  Mountain,  —  so  called  in  honor  of  the  Willey  family,  whict 
was  destroyed  by  the  fearful  slide  that  occurred  on  its  eastern  slope 
in  1826. 

This  took  place  during  the  night.  Hundreds  of  acres  of  the 
almost  perpendicular  mountain-side,  which  had  been  loosened  and 


46  THE  MEREIMACK  RIVER; 

undermined  by  long  and  heavy  rains,  came  pouring  down  upon  the 
interval,  bearing  with  it  huge  rocks  and  the  entire  forest  which  grew 
upon  and  covered  it,  burying  in  its  overwhelming  rush  every  mem- 
ber of  this  unfortunate  family, — father,  mother,  five  children,  and 
two  servants,  all  finding  a  common  grave  in  the  debris  of  this  terribly 
fatal  slide.  It  is  in  this  famous  mountain  that  the  true  source  of 
the  Merrimack  is  located.  On  the  western  slope  of  Mount  Willey, 
directly  opposite  the  slide  and  near  the  base,  is  a  pond  called  Ethan 
Crawford's  Pond,  in  honor  of  the  old  pioneer  of  the  Notch.  This 
pond,  located  in  an  almost  unexplored  wilderness,  but  little  known, 
is  generally  believed  to  be  the  source  of  the  Merrimack.  This, 
however,  is  a  mistake,  for  up  the  mountain,  to  the  north-east  of 
Ethan's  Pond,  at  a  considerable  distance,  and  near  the  summit  of 
Mount  Willey,  is  another  pond,  nearly  the  same  size  of  the  latter, 
which  is  the  true  source  of  the  Merrimack.  The  waters  of  this 
pond  escape  in  a  southerly  direction,  and,  swinging  to  the  west, 
after  travelling  several  miles,  unite  with  the  outlet  of  the  Ethan 
Pond,  to  the  west  of  the  latter,  and  form  the  nucleus  or  starting- 
point  of  this  magnificent  stream.  Nor  does  it  long  remain  the  in- 
significant rivulet  we  find  it  here ;  for,  surrounded  with  lofty  moun- 
tain ranges  on  either  side,  it  receives  accessions  at  almost  every  step, 
and  a  progress  of  but  a  few  miles  renders  it  a  real  river,  respectable 
in  size,  magnificent  in  its  surroundings,  lovely  and  romantic  beyond 
description. 

Starting  from  the  base  of  Mount  Willey,  this  stream  runs  through 
an  unbroken  wilderness  for  nearly  forty  miles.  A  country  so  wild 
and  grand  few  have  ever  witnessed.  It  is  a  singular  if  not  impor- 
tant fact,  that  within  five  miles  of  the  source  of  this  stream  may  be 
found  the  sources  of  two  others,  each  in  its  course  following  a  cardi- 
nal point  of  the  compass,  namely,  the  Merrimack,  running  south ;  the 
Saco,  east,  and  the  wild  Amonoosuck,  west ;  while,  but  a  few  miles 
away  to  the  northward,  is  the  Magalloway,  otherwise  known  as  the 
Androscoggin. 

Following  down  the  Merrimack,  or,  as  it  is  commonly  called,  the 
east  branch  of  the  Pemigewasset,  it  will  be  found  that  a  grand  spur 
of  the  White  Hills  shuts  down  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  the 
course  of  the  stream,  on  its  right  bank  ;  while,  on  the  left,  a  similar 
range  closes  in,  leaving  a  broad  and  beautiful  interval  between. 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES,  47 

Three  two  gigantic  enclosures  follow  the  river,  at  a  somewhat  irregu- 
lar distance  therefrom ;  and,  as  the  stream  starts  on  a  due  west 
course,  it  maintains  a  regular  teend  to  the  southward,  so,  also,  do 
these  mountains,  until  the  Franconia  range  is  met,  which  continues 
in  the  same  direction  until  the  foot  of  the  Franconia  Notch  is  reached. 
Thus,  it  will  be  seen  that,  throughout  its  wildest  course,  it  is  guarded 
on  either  side  by  a  huge  wall  of  mountain  ranges. 

Passing  down  the  stream  some  six  miles  from  the  confluence  of 
the  waters  of  the  two  ponds,  a  large  brook  flows  in»from  the  right, 
and  is  remarkable  for  its  coldness,  purity,  and  transparency,  and 
also  for  the  immense  number  of  trout  which  crowd  its  waters  and 
seem  to  regard  it  as  a  sort  of  fishy  paradise.  Leaving  this  brook,  — 
which  is  something  of  a -sacrifice,  —  and  reaching  a  point  some  ten 
miles  farther  down,  we  arrive  at  the  Grand  Falls,  beside  which  the 
Amoskeag  and  the  Pawtucket,  except  in  volume  of  water,  dwindle 
into  insignificance.  Just  below  is  another  considerable  tributary, 
and  still  farther  down  the  Hancock  Kiver  adds  its  quota  to  the  swell- 
ing flood.  All  of  these  streams,  large  and  small,  abound  in  trout 
and  no  other  kind  of  fish.  Previous  to  the  erection  of  the  Lawrence 
dam,  when  every  variety  of  migratory  fish  came  up  the  Merrimack, 
the  salmon  alone,  of  all  the  tribes  of  the  sea,  sought  the  cool,  pure 
waters,  and  the  shaded  and  silent  retreat  at  the  head-waters  of 
this  river.  While  on  this  subject,  it  may  not  be  uninteresting  to 
observe  the  nature  and  habits  of  the  salmon  and  the  salmon  trout. 

These  two  noble  fish  appear  to  be  of  the  same  genus,  having 
substantially  the  same  habits  and  the  same  general  characteristics. 
Both  are  migratory  ;  both  present  the  same  general  external  appear- 
ance, being  beautifully  spotted;  and,  like  the  lily  of  the  valley, 
"  Solomon  in  all  his  glory  was  not  arrayed  like  one  of  these."  Both 
are  the  richest,  finest,  most  delicate-flavored,  and  the  most  athletic, 
size  considered,  of  all  fish. 

After  the  spawning  season  the  salmon  goes  out  to  sea,  while  the 
trout  remain  in  the  rivers  and  other  deep  fresh  waters  during  the 
winter ;  but  there  is  one  remarkable  fact  concerning  the  habits  of 
these  fish. which  is  established  beyond  controversy,  —  each  fish  invaria- 
bly follows  up  the  same  stream  to  spawn  where  itself  was  incubated, 
unless  some  insurmountable  difficulty  is  placed  across  its  way,  such, 
for  instance,  as  the  Lawrence  dam. 


48  THE  MEREIMACK  RIVEE; 

-  The  method  of  taking  these  magnificent  prizes  was  at  one  time 
well  known,  —  nowhere  better  than  along  the  Merrimack.  When 
the  fish  disappeared  the  practice  was  of  course  suspended ;  but  now 
that  public-spirited  legislators  and  gentlemen  have  taken  hold  in 
earnest  to  remedy  this  great  loss,  and  fishways  have  been  constructed 
to  help  them  pass  the  dams,  and  salmon-breeding  is  come  to  be  a 
recreation  and  a  profit,  it  seems  likely  that  our  cold  mountain 
streams  may  be  restocked  with  this  admirable  fish,  and  it  may  not  be 
inappropriate  to  briefly  refer  to  the  various  methods  of  taking  them. 
How  the  Indians  took  them  it  is  not  worth  while  to  inquire  or 
explain ;  therefore  we  will  see  how  expert  and  skilful  fishermen  of 
the  pale-faces  secure  them. 

There  seem  to  be  but  three  principal  methods  of  taking  the  salmon, 
namely,  the  fly,  the  net,  and  the  spear.  The  spear  is  tolerably  effec- 
tive, but  it  takes  him  at  a  disadvantage,  and  also  lacerates  his  flesh,  and 
is  in  no  sense  the  pastime  for  a  true  sportsman.  The  net  is  also  used 
by  those  who  make  it  a  vocation ;  it  is  circular,  nearly  two  yards  in 
length,  and  about  the  size  of  a  common  bushel-basket  at  the  opening, 
which  is  round,  and  woven  upon  a  hoop  prepared  for  this  purpose  ;  a 
handle  the  length  of  the  net  is  attached  by  means  of  the  hoop. 

Any  and  all  of  these  arrangements  may  be  varied  to  suit  the 
necessities  of  the  operator,  who  proceeds  to  the  falls  through  which  the 
salmon  have  to  pass,  and  in  the  narrow  channels  between  the  rocks 
where  the  waters  rush  and  foam  and  plunge,  here  is  placed  the  net, 
and  soon  the  powerful  beauty  rushes  in,  and,  of  course,  is  easily 
secured,  being  enveloped  in  a  labyrinth  of  strong  meshes. 

For  the  man  who  has  no  object  but  to  secure  the  salmon  for  his 
market  value,  the  spear  and  the  net  may  answer  all  purposes,  but 
for  the  genuine  sportsman,  who  would  rather  buy  the  fish,  or  even  do 
without  it  altogether,  than  engage  in  this  tame  pastime,  the  excite- 
ment of  the  fly  is  the  only  really  satisfactory  method.  Not  only  this, 
but  he  acquits  himself  of  any  accusations  of  cruelty  which  his  tender 
conscience  may  prefer  by  claiming  to  display  a  sort  of  chivalry, 
founded  on  the  plea  that  the  fish  was  entirely  free  to  take  the  fly  or 
not,  as  he  pleased,  and  that  if  he  chooses  he  may  test  its  quality, 
or  inquire  what  it  is  made  of  and  take  the  chances,  or  if  you  please 
the  consequences,  —  declaring  that  thus  they  only  manifest  the  dispo- 
sition of  beings  claiming  to  be  of  a  much  higher  order,  and  endowed 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  49 

with  reason  to  teach  them  better,  but  who,  nevertheless,  often  get 
themselves  into  difficulties  as  inextricable  as  taking  the  fly. 

In  catching  the  salmon  it  is  very  necessary  to  have  the  experience 
and  skill  of  a  practical  fly-fisher ;  that  is  to  say,  with  a  rod  and  line 
of  sufficient  length  to  be  able  to  cast  the  fly  into  a  six-inch  ring  at  a 
distance  of  twelve  or  fifteen  yards,  then  take  position  in  the  bow  of 
the  boat,  while  at  the  stern  sits  your  skuller.  Arrived  on  the 
salmon  ground  the  fly  is  carefully  cast,  and  the  skuller  is  on  the 
alert  to  back  water,  or  handle  the  boat  in  any  manner  he  may  be 
directed.  As  the  fly  gently  touches  the  surface,  it  is  taken,  if  at  all, 
and  then  is  the  beginning  of  a  most  exciting  scene.  Of  course  he 
is  hooked  at  once,  and,  discovering  this,  he  gives  an  exhibition  of  his 
unequalled  agility  and  strength.  Madly  rushing  up  stream  and 
down  —  it  being  important  to  keep  a  taut  line  on  him  —  he  is 
reeled  out  and  in  as  the  exigency  requires.  Now  is  the  real  period 
of  enjoyment  for  the  true  sportsman.  The  excitement  of  having  on 
his  line  so  rich  a  prize,  the  science  required  to  handle  the  job  prop- 
erly, the  danger  of  his  breaking  away,  the  plunging  and  floundering, 
the  fantastic  gyrations,  and  the  intense  desire  to  land  him  safely,  —  all 
conspire  to  render  this  sport  attractive  and  exciting  in  the  extreme. 
It  is  always  necessary  to  allow  the  salmon  to  become  exhausted 
before  any  attempt  is  made  to  secure  him,  as  any  effort  to  complete 
the  capture  while  he  is  in  full  possession  of  his  unexampled  muscular 
power  would  undoubtedly  prove  disastrous  to  the  success  of  the 
party,  and  a  hard  struggle  with  a  healthy  thirty-pound  salmon 
might  possibly  involve  more  serious  consequences. 

As  has  been  said,  the  trout  is,  to  all  intents,  the  salmon  modified. 
There  are  several  varieties  of  trout,  each  distinguishable  by  shape, 
color,  or  quality ;  either  of  these,  and  sometimes  all  combined,  are 
used  to  recognize  one  breed  of  trout  from  another.  These  variations 
from  the  high  excellence  of  the  salmon  trout  are  by  many  attributed 
to  the  water,  or,  more  properly,  to  the  country  they  inhabit.  Thus 
we  have  in  all  the  high-land  tributaries  of  the  Merrimack,  and,  in 
fact,  all  running  water,  except  the  inlets  and  outlets  of  ponds,  the 
genuine  salmon  trout  in  the  highest  state  of  perfection,  and  even  a 
superlative  silver  salmon  trout ;  then  there  is  in  swampy  streams 
and  muddy  ponds  the  mackerel  trout,  a  blue  and  less  rich  flavored 
kind ;  there  is  also  a  variety  of  trout,  very  rare,  and  never  found 

7 


50  THE  MEERIMACK  EIVEE ; 

only  in  small,  clear  ponds,  located  at  a  high  altitude,  some  two  thousand 
feet  and  upward  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  This  trout,  or  at  least 
those  examined,  vary  from  one  to  two  and  a  half  pounds,  and  are  pecu- 
liarly rich, — being  declared  by  epicures  to  excel  in  all  respects  even  the 
salmon  itself.  Proper  lake  trout  differ  but  little  in  quality,  and  but 
for  the  esteemed  name  they  bear  would  attract  no  more,  perhaps  less, 
notice  than  the  salt-water  stand-by  which  has  given  its  name  to  the 
sandy  desert  beyond  the*  Plymouth  Rock, —  renowned  Cape  Cod. 

The  universal  method  of  taking  the  trout  seems  to  have  settled 
down  to  the"  rod  and  line,  and  if  an  occasional  vandalism  is  perpe- 
trated, such  as  liming  a  brook,  or  other  kindred  meanness,  it  is  only 
an  exceptional  case,  right-minded  people  frowning  down  all  such 
doings,  and  approving  the  genuine  disciple  of  Isaak  Walton. 

In  pond-fishing,  and  in  other  open  places,  the  fly  is  used  at  certain 
seasons,  as  in  salmon-fishing,  with  good  success ;  in  fact,  it  is  some- 
times indispensable,  and  in  other  localities  the  bait  is  caused  to 
ricochet  along  the  surface  precisely  as  for  pickerel,  this  being  the  only 
means  of  securing  a  "  bite."  These,  however,  are  exceptional  cases; 
the  great  bulk  of  trout-fishing  is  the  well-known  system  of  baiting 
the  hook  and  dropping  it  in  the  water. 

For  bait,  the  universal  India-rubber,  mud  or  angle  worm  is  first 
and  foremost ;  the  yellow -headed  white  grub,  or  potato  worm,  the 
grasshopper,  and  several  other  insects,  and  sometimes  fishes'  eyes 
are  used  with  good  success.  Many  people  avoid  making  a  noise 
when  trouting,  such  as  calling  to  each  other,  etc.  It  may  be  ob- 
served in  this  connection  that  it  is  believed  trout  hear  no  outside 
sound,  either  from  a  physical  disability,  or  from  being  in  the  water. 
Whether  this  is  or  not  a  correct  observation,  experience  has  proved 
that  no  mere  sound  alarms  them  in  the  least;  but  they  are  extremely 
sensitive  and  keen-sighted ;  a  shadow  thrown  across  the  brook  alarms 
them  at  once,  or  a  step  on  the  bank  heavy  enough  to  jar  and 
agitate  the  water  affects  them  instantly,  and  away  they  dart 
almost  with  the  rapidity  of  lightning.  The  reason  why  better  luck 
is  supposed  to  be  assured  on  a  rainy  day  is  undoubtedly  because  the 
duller  the  day  the  less  liable  is  the  fisherman  to  expose  himself,  and 
thereby  alarm  the  trout,  and,  further,  the  rain  beats  down  flies,  and 
washes  from  the  bank  worms  and  insects.  Instinct  teaching  them 
that  rainy  days  are  their  thanksgiving  days,  they  are  on  the  alert, 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  51 

And  as  ready  to  take  the  fisherman's  bait,  providing  he  conforms 
sufficiently  to  nature  to  prevent  detection,  as  anything  else.  As 
soon  as  the  snow-water  is  cleared  from  the  brooks,  and  migration 
to  the  spawning  grounds  becomes  general  and  rapid,  the  trouting 
season  may  be  said  to  have  properly  commenced  ;  but  the  best  period 
for  a  guaranty  of  good  success  is  regarded  as  having  arrived  when 
the  apple-trees  are  in  full  blossom,  especially  when  favored  by  the 
supposed  additional  advantage  credited  by  tradition  or  experience  to 
the  influence  of  the  sign  Virgo.  The  only  sensible  way  to  follow  a 
trout  stream  is  to  follow  it  down,  not  up.  It  is  as  natural  for  a  trout 
to  head  up  stream  as  for  mankind  to  head  towards  progression,  —  it  is 
an  invariable  rule.  Being  prepared,  then,  in  all  particulars,  for  the 
sport,  seek  the  stream  ;  if  it  is  frequently  fished,  great  caution  must 
be  exercised,  and  care  must  be  taken  to  keep  out  of  range  of  keen 
eyes,  and  also  not  to  step  heavily  on  the  bank  which  agitates  the 
water,  when  the  extreme  sensitiveness  of  the  trout  takes  alarm  and 
away  he  scuds,  or  secretes  himself  securely  behind  some  friendly 
shelter,  and  nothing  can  tempt^him  abroad  until  he  is  satisfied  the 
danger  is  past.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  stream  is  comparatively 
free  from  the  visitations  of  fishermen,  step  boldly  into  the  water, 
allowing  the  hook  to  play  among  the  ripples  below.  Armed  with 
approved  bait,  a  straight,  slender,  pointed  bamboo  rod  and  a  basket 
on  the  side,  one  is  the  prince  of  fishermen  securing  the  king  of 
all  fish,  and  enjoying  an  undisputed  nobility  of  sport. 

TKOUT  AND   SALMON  FISHING. 

"  Now,  when  the  first  foul  torrent  of  the  brooks, 
Swelled  with  the  vernal  rains,  is  ebbed  away, 
And,  whitening,  down  their  mossy-tinctured  stream 
Descends  the  billowy  foam,  —  now  is  the  time, 
While  yet  the  dark-brown  water  aids  the  guile, 
To  tempt  the  trout.    The  well-dissembled  fly, 
The  rod  fine-tapering,  with  elastic  spring, 
Snatched  from  the  hoary  steed  the  floating  line, 
And  all  thy  slender  wat'ry  stores  prepare ; 
But  let  not  oil  thy  hook  the  tortured  worm, 
Convulsive  twist  in  agonizing  folds, 
Which,  by  rapacious  hunger  swallowed  deep, 
Gives,  as  you  tear  it  from  the  bleeding  breast 
Of  the  weak,  helpless,  uncomplaining  wretch, 
Harsh  pain  and  horror  to  the  tender  hand. 


52  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

When,  with  his  lively  ray,  the  potent  sun 

Has  pierced  the  streams  and  roused  the  finny  race, 

Then,  issuing  cheerful,  to  thy  sport  repair ; 

Chief  should  the  western  breezes  curling  play, 

And  light  o'er  ether  bear  the  shadowy  clouds. 

High,  to  their  fount,  this  day  amid  the  hills 

And  woodlands,  warbling  round,  trace  up  the  brooks  | 

The  next,  pursue  their  rocky-channelled  maze 

Down  to  the  river,  in  whose  ample  wave 

Their  little  Naiads  love  to  sport  at  large. 

Just  in  the  dubious  point,  where,  with  the  pool, 

Is  mixed  the  trembling  stream,  or  where  it  boils 

Around  the  stone,  or,  from  the  hollowed  bank 

Reverted,  plays  in  undulating  flow, 

There  throw,  nice-judging,  the  delusive  fly, 

And,  as  you  lead  it  round  in  artful  curve, 

With  eye  attentive,  mark  the  springing  game. 

Straight,  as  above  the  surface  of  the  flood 

They  wanton  rise,  or,  urged  by  hunger,  leap, 

Then  fix,  with  gentle  twitch,  the  barbed  hook; 

Some  lightly  tossing  to  the  grassy  bank, 

And  to  the  shelving  shore  slow-dragging  some, 

With  various  hand  proportioned  to  their  force. 

If  yet  too  young,  and  easily  deceived, 

A  worthless  prey  scarce  bends  your  pliant  rod, 

Him,  piteous  of  his  youth,  and  the  short  space 

He  has  enjoyed  the  vital  light  of  heaven, 

Soft  disengage,  and  back  into  the  stream 

The  speckled  captive  throw ;  but  should  you  lure 

From  his  dark  haunt,  beneath  the  tangled  roots 

Of  pendent  trees,  the  monarch  of  the  brook, 

Behooves  you  then  to  ply  your  finest  art. 

Long  time  he,  following  cautious,  scans  the  fly, 

And  oft  attempts  to  seize  it,  but  as  oft 

The  dimpled  water  speaks  his  jealous  fear; 

At  last,  while  haply  o'er  the  shaded  sun 

Passes  a  cloud,  he,  desperate,  takes  the  death, 

With  sullen  plunge ;  at  once  he  darts  along, 

Deep-struck,  and  runs  out  all  the  lengthened  line, 

When  seeks  the  farthest  ooze,  the  sheltering  weed, 

The  caverned  bank,  his  old  secure  abode, 

And  flies  aloft,  and  flounces  round  the  pool 

Indignant  of  the  guile.    With  yielding  hand 

That  feels  him  still,  yet  to  his  furious  course 

Gives  way,  you,  now  retiring,  following  now 

Across  the  stream,  exhaust  his  idle  rage ; 

Till,  floating  broad  upon  his  breathless  side, 

And  to  his  fate  abandoned,  to  the  shore 

You  gayly  drag  your  unresisting  prey." 

THOMSON'S  SEASONS. 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS   TRIBUTARIES.  53 

The  source  of  the  Merrimack  River  is  more  than  six  thousand 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  thus  it  is  not  strange  that 
it  has  the  quality  of  purity  unexcelled,  and  its  course,  through 
its  first  forty  or  Jifty  miles,  is  magnificently  wild  and  grand; 
the  silvery,  transparent  river,  meandering  gently  through  the 
sylvan  forest  shade,  or  dashing  and  roaring  through  the  narrow 
chasm,  or  leaping  and  tumbling  in  a  milky  volume  over  the  rocky 
falls,  and  then  calming  down  like  a  mild  and  still  May  morning, 
and  settling  into  dark  and  quiet  pools,  where  the  noble  salmon  was 
wont  to  lay,  like  a  tiger  in  his  lair,  crouching,  with  a  keen  eye  and 
invincible  prowess  for  the  unwary  prey.  Here,  the  great  blue 
heron,  tall  as  a  well-grown  youth,  stalks  majestically  up  and  down, 
with  an  eager  eye  on  the  unapproachable  trout,  more  difficult  to 
obtain  than  the  simple  perch  and  shiner  among  the  reeds  and  rushes 
on  the  marshes  of  his  usual  fishing-ground ;  the  sleek,  sable  mink 
breeds  in  abundance  and  security ;  the  great,  clumsy,  brown  bear, 
though  unexpert,  tries  his  skill  at  diving,  trout  being  for  him  a  rare 
and  savory  delicacy ;  the  fish-hawk  and  the  fish-eagle  perch  above 
the  pure,  transparent  tide,  and,  with  resistless  swoop,  bring  up  the 
spotted  captives.  The  wild  deer  comes  down  from  the  alpine  sur- 
roundings, not  timid  here,  and  cools  and  refreshes  itself  in  the 
pellucid  current.  Numerous  aquatic  fowl  here  also  congregate; 
the  little  wood  duck,  the  most  singular  specimen  of  ornithology,  a 
combination  of  water-fowl  and  land-fowl,  at  home  equally  on  the 
water,  or  perched  on  a  forest  tree.  Silence  and  solitude  brood  over 
all  this  lovely  land,  save  when  the  wild  beast  calls  to  his  mate,  or 
howls  fiercely  and  defiantly  along  some  almost  inaccessible  preci- 
pice, or  some  bird  shoots  screaming  across  the  magnificent  valley. 
Huge  birds  build  their  nests  among  the  mountain  fastnesses,  and 
flap  their  expansive  wings  lazily  from  crag  to  crag,  or  rest  on  a 
trusty  branch  of  some  gigantic  forest  tree.  Conspicuous  here  is 
found  primeval  nature,  and  all  her  creatures  here  unerringly  pro- 
claim, that  man,  the  foremost  of  them  all,  as  yet  has  not  appeared, 
except  by  proxy ;  that  his  cunning  and  rapacity,  his  cupidity  and 
cruelty  are,  happily,  unknown  in  this  secluded  spot.  The  moun- 
tains here,  that  range  along  the  stream  on  either  side,  are  covered 
with  a  dense,  unbroken  wilderness,  high  up,  and  it  is  curious  to 
observe  the  line  of  demarcation  between  the  deciduous  and  the  ever- 


54  THE  MEEEIMACK  EIVER; 

green,  regular  as  the  waist-belt  of  a  charming  belle,  —  it  marks  the 
boundary  of  another  climate,  soil,  and  production,  while  the  seared, 
seamed,  and  scarred  summits  most  clearly  show  that  neither  soil  nor 
vegetation  there  exist.  The  forests  embrace  almost  every  variety 
of  timber.  The  hemlock  is  an  especial  favorite,  being  browsed  by 
the  deer  and  peeled  by  the  "fretful  porcupine." 

Tall  and  stately  spruces,  straight  as  an  arrow,  symmetrical,  sound, 
and  plentiful,  await  the  woodman's  axe.  Game,  especially  of  the 
larger  and  less  common  varieties,  abounds  in  this  great  forest.  "Why 
should  it  not?  Stretching  far  away  to  the  north  and  east,  it  is 
almost  an  unbroken  wilderness  to  Maine  and  Canada.  But  a  few 
years  since  the  sneaking  wolf  here  prowled  for  prey.  The  moose 
may  still  be  found,  and  deer  are  plentiful.  Bears  are  so  common  as 
to  be  often  troublesome  to  the  sheepfolds  beyond  the  borders  of  the 
wood.  Lynxes  and  yellow-cats  are  often  seen,  and  not  unfrequently 
captured,  and  mountain  sable  are  trapped  extensively.  The  moun- 
tain partridge  is  found  in  great  abundance,  and  of  a  superior  quality 
and  flavor,  and  there  are  seasons  when  the  wild  pigeons  crowd  the 
woods,  until  the  whole  surrounding  forests  are  literally  alive  and 
swarming  with  them.  There  is  probably  no  region  of  country  so 
extensive,  so  wild  and  diversified  as  this,  in  any  of  the  older  States, 
certainly  not  in  New  England.  It  commences  near  Conway,  and 
runs  north-easterly  to  the  State  of  Maine,  and  north-west  to  Fran- 
conia,  bearing  north-east  again,  until,  reaching  the  great  forest  that 
skirts  the  western  base  of  the  White  Hills,  it  stretches  away  to  the 
north  indefinitely.  This  territory  is  called  ungranted  land,  as  no 
settlements  have  been  made,  and  no  town-lines  traverse  this  grand 
wilderness  of  wood,  water,  and  gigantic  granite  walls.  But  of  all 
this  vast  extent  of  sublimity  and  grandeur,  no  section  exceeds  what 
may  be  termed  the  Fairy  Grotto,  or  the  great  wild  valley  of  the 
head-waters  of  the  Merrimack.  As  an  obscure  and  secluded  retreat 
how  grateful,  serene,  and  quiet ;  how  much  coveted  by  the  man  of 
business  in  the  great  marts,  whose  brain  whirls,  and  is  almost  ago- 
nized by  the  tramp  of  many  feet,  and  the  ever-rushing  human  torrent 
of  countless  thousands ;  for  the  student,  whether  of  nature  or  books, 
who  will  here  receive  inspiration,  enlarging  mind  and  thought  to 
a  more  comprehensive,  possibly  a  more  common-sense  view  of  God, 
and,  consequently,  of  man,  and  his  relations  and  duties  to  both ! 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  55 

The  mechanic  and  the  laboring  man  may  here  resort,  and,  stretched  on 
beds  of  savory  hemlock,  surrounded  by  an  atmosphere,  health-giving, 
and  pure  as  the  breath  of  the  Deity,  relax  from  toil,  refresh  and 
recuperate. 

No  one  can  travel  hither  without  receiving  benefit.  The  tourist, 
the  pleasure-seeker,  the  sportsman,  the  artist,  even  the  Christian,  or 
he  that  professes  to  be  a  Christian,  can  here  learn  the  ring  of.  the 
genuine  metal,  and,  possibly,  by  contrast,  learn  the  true  measure 
of  the  scrimped  and  contracted  pattern  which  he  boasts,  and  better 
still  adopt  the  other  fashion.  Here  the  misanthrope  may  repair, 
and  if  his  malady  has  come  to  be  confirmed,  the  dismal  character  'of 
his  surroundings  may  nourish  his  disease,  and  thus  afford  even  him 
a  dubious  consolation ;  or,  if  his  disease  should  be  of  the  mitigated 
melancholy  type,  the  bright  and  beautiful  around  him,  fresh  and 
glorious  from  the  hand  of  the  Great  First  Cause,  may  wean  him  from 
his  unseemly,  unnatural,  and  unprofitable  despondency,  and  bring 
him  to  a  more  just  and  correct  view  of  his  duties  and  responsibilities 
as  a  rational  and  intelligent  human  being. 

Approaching  the  splendid  falls  before  referred  to,  one  cannot  fail 
to  be  struck  with  their  great  power  and  wonderful  natural  beauty. 
Except  in  the  quantity  of  water  discharged  over  them,  these  falls 
surpass  all  others  on  the  river,  and  standing  here  and  gazing  on 
this  great  power  now  wasted,  one  may  fancy  he  sees  a  prospective 
Lowell,  or  an  embryotic  Manchester,  with  its  monster  mills,  its 
rattling  machinery,  its  radiating  streets,  and  its  busy  people.  Al- 
though this  may  long  remain  a  wilderness,  unknown  to  any  but 
daring  explorers,  it  is  certain  that  there  is  a  splendid  water-power, 
and  a  cheap,  easy,  and  convenient  means  at  hand  to  secure  and  con- 
trol it.  The  purity  of  this  region  is  so  proverbial,  that  health, 
strength,  and  beauty  would  conspicuously  mark  such  a  community ; 
in  fact,  it  may  be  supposed,  only  by  waiting  for  a  fatal  accident, 
could  that  peaceful  neighborhood,  called  a  graveyard,  be  com- 
menced, and  its  narrow  dwelling  sites  be  taken  up  by  actual  settlers. 

Most  people  are  undoubtedly  familiar  with  many  of  the  physical 
phenomena  scattered  about  all  this  region ;  but  as  there  are  some 
interesting  localities  which  it  is  impossible  for  but  few  to  see  person- 
ally, it  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  mention  them.  Nearly  on  the 
summit  of  the  left-bank  range  there  is  a  small  pond,  contaii  ing  not 


56  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

more  than  five  acres,  stocked  liberally  with  the  finest  variety  of  trou* 
of  large  average  size ;  the  specimens  taken  ranging  from  one  to  two  and 
a  half  pounds.  This  pond  is  fed  by  a  very  generous  and  pure  spring, 
located  about  one-fourth  of  a  mile  nearer  the  top  of  the  range,  and 
is  discharged  over  a  smooth  rock,  very  steep,  for  more  than  six 
hundred  feet,  the  bed  of  the  stream  being  from  six  to  eight  feet  wide, 
the  water,  which  is  of  an  average  depth  of  one  half  inch,  running  so 
smoothly  that  it  is  difficult  to  discover  that  there  is  any  water.  This 
is,  of  course,  a  fine  trout  brook ;  and  finds  its  way  to  the  river  some 
miles  from  the  foot  of  Lafayette  mountain.  This  pond  is  east  of  Mt. 
Lafayette ;  south  of  it  there  is  an  extensive  windfall,  —  more  than  five 
thousand  acres  of  forest,  all  spruce,  have  been  blown  down,  not  a  tree 
remaining,  and  every  one  taken  up  at  the  root,  peeling  the  soil 
entirely  from  the  bed  rock.  A  not  very  abrupt  ascent  of  half  a 
mile  east  brings  one  to  the  summit,-  where  a  remarkable  view  presents 
itself.  The  eastern  face  of  the  range  is  apparently  perpendicular 
more  than  three  thousand  feet,  while  at  that  distance  below  your  feet, 
the,  country  appears  perfectly  level  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  — a 
dozen  or  fifteen  miles.  This  level  country  spreads  to  the  north,  east, 
and  south,  and  is  covered  with  beech,  maple,  and  other  leaf-shedding 
trees,  without  a  single  opening  in  this  vast  expanse,  except  where  the 
granite  crops  out  above  the  surface.  Through  these  breaks  here  and 
there  are  seen  glimpses  of  the  sparkling  waters  of  secluded  lakes, 
and  the  silvery  cord  of  the  meandering  brook,  while  many  miles 
away  to  the  south-east  stands  out  against  the  horizon  the  grim  and 
barren  peak  of  old  Chocorua.  Westward,  seemingly  so  near  you 
fancy  you  could  hurl  a  stone  upon  it,  but  in  fact  more  than  ten  miles 
away,  is  the  naked  and  frowning  Lafayette ;  to  the  north-west,  the 
great  Haystack,  lofty  and  superb,  stands  the  central  figure  of  a  num- 
ber of  gross  and  ungainly  knobs,  while  over  all,  some  forty  miles 
away  to  the  north,  is  seen  the  conspicuous  crown  of  Washington. 
Camping  on  one  of  these  great  elevations  gives  one  an  idea  how  much 
earlier  "  the  jocund  day  stands  tiptoe  on  the  misty  mountain-top  " 
than  in  the  valley  below.  Standing  here  in  the  early  dawn,  look 
down  upon  the  silent  valley  robed  in  emphatic  night,  watch  the 
impenetrable  gloom  as  it  fades  into  an  intangible  shade,  and  then  to 
radiant  day.  As  the  earliest  scintillations  of  rosy  dawn  touch  the 
highest  summits,  and  the  first  beams  of  the  morning  sun  gild  and 


lip 
ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TEIBUTAEIES.  .     57 

illuminate  first  of  all  creation  the  highest  pinnacles,  so  does  the 
bright  sun  of  knowledge  and  of  truth  first  illumine  the  highest 
intellectual  summits,  and  gradually  but  surely  penetrate  the  lower 
level  of  the  valley  of  mediocrity,  dispelling  in  like  manner  the  mental 
and  moral  darkness. 

Franconia  Notch,  to  the  east  of  which,  through  the  wild  valley  of 
the  Upper  Merrimack  flow  the  cool,  bright,  sparkling  waters  of  the 
principal  branch  of  that  stream,  is  on  the  west  of  this  valley,  with 
the  Lafayette  or  Franconia  range  between  the  river  and  the  Notch 
road,  running  parallel  the  whole  distance  from  Plymouth  to  the  top 
or  opening  of  the  Notch.  This  wonderful  phenomena  of  nature  is 
talked  about  so  much  by  to*urists,  journalists,  and  others,  is  visited 
by  so  many  thousands,  that  were  it  not  an  extraordinary  subject  it 
would  have  become  long  since  exhausted  ;  but  the  fact  that  every- 
thing connected  with  it  is  listened  to  with  marked  attention  and 
eagerly  sought  for,  proves  that  the  subject  is  still  fresh,  and  that  the 
unparalleled  sublimity ,  grandeur,  and  romance  of  this  great  warehouse 
of  nature's  wonders  have  attracted  the  liveliest  interest  among  all 
classes  of  people.  No  one  sees  this  gigantic  collection  of  impressive 
curiosities  without  a  striking  and  deep-seated  impression  of  their 
peculiar  grandeur.  Men  may  see  a  great  ship,  an  immense  building, 
or  any  other  interesting  work  of  art,  and  view  it  with  a  kind  of 
admiration  ;  still  its  salient  features  are  skill,  labor,  and  capital ;  but 
here  he  sees  the  handiwork,  nay,  the  visible  presence  of  the  ever- 
living  God.  Here  is  his  great  temple,  here  His  throne  ;  here  is  open 
to  the  poorest  vision  and  the  dullest  comprehension,  the  majesty  and 
perfection  of  His  works  and  laws.  Many  journey  to  these  scenes  year 
after  year,  attracted  by  the  indefinable  emotions  awakened  in  their 
minds  at  each  successive  return. 

' '  I  had  seen  pictures  only  of  this  mountain  scenery  before. 
Pictures  ?  Mockeries  !  the  best  that  artist  ever  sketched  but  as 
faintly  portrays  their  grandeur  as  dew-drops  describe  an  ocean ! 
One  exclamation  of  wonder  hardly  dies  in  reverberation  ere  the  eye 
falls  on  some  new  pleasure  quite  as  delightful  to  behold.  One 
almost  fancies  that  invisible  spirits  sit  enthroned  upon  those  giant 
cliffs,  and  are  ever  preparing  a  gorgeous  dioramic  display  for  mortals' 
contemplation !  His  must  be  a  wretched  philosophy  and  worse 


58  THE  MEREIMACK  H1VEE ; 

religion,  which  fails  to  recognize  the  perfecting  agency  of  the  great 
Jehovah  in  this  grand  master-piece  of  natural  architecture !"  * 

Placed  by  itself,  without  this  remarkable  combination  of  grand 
surroundings,  the  Echo  Lake,  the  Flume,  the  Old  Man  of  the  Moun- 
tain, or  any  of  the  great  features  of  this  locality,  would  stand  out  in 
bolder  relief  than  now,  and  consequently  appear  to  the  beholder  more 
awfully  grand  than  as  it  does,  surrounded  by  so  many  astonishing 
and  bewildering  sights,  notwithstanding  they  are  each  separately  a 
wonder,  and  an  insoluble  problem,  and  as  a  group,  a  marvel,  unequalled 
by  any  collection  of  natural  objects  in  the  world. 

Nothing  can  produce  a  more  happy  or  beneficent  effect  upon  the 
mind  than  a  contemplation  of  the  works  of  nature.  No  mind  so 
besotted  or  so  fragile  but  it  can  draw  inspiration  to  higher  objects, 
aims,  and  ends  by  approaching  this  pure  fountain. 

Standing  here  under  heaven's  great  azure  dome,  if  there  be  any 
•who  know  nothing  of  Him  they  may  at  least  observe  His  works,  which 
are  on  the  grandest  scale,  spread  out  with  a  benevolent  and  lavish 
hand,  and  in  the  Divine  Presence  at  least  enjoy  a  more  soul-inspiring, 
healthful,  and  innocent  recreation. 

Come,  then,  ye  frequenters  of  gilded  and  gas-illumined  palaces, 
who  transpose  the  order  of  nature  by  turning  night  into  day  at  the 
expense  of  health  and  peace  of  mind,  leave  the  cup  of  body  and  soul 
destroying  beverage ;  leave  your  pasteboard  and  human  knaves,  chips, 
shells,  spotted  cubes,  and  miasmatic  atmosphere,  and  hasten  to  the 
pure  fountains  of  sweet  waters  and  bracing  air  fresh  from  the  moun- 
tain-tops and  the  fragrant  forests,  and  here  gather  a  loftier  ambition, 
and  a  more  profitable  and  sensible  view  of  the  perfect  original  grand 
design ! 

One  of  the  greatest  objects  of  interest  is  .the  Echo  Lake,  located 
on  the  east  side  of  the  road  near  the  northern  entrance  to  the  Notch. 
This  lake  is  deep,  pure,  and  tranquil,  and  is  a  curiosity  and  a 
wonder.  Surrounded  by  lofty  mountains  and  towering  cliffs,  the  report 
of  fire-arms,  the  speaking-trumpet,  or  the  voice  reverberates  from 
crag  to  cliff  in  oft-repeated  echoes,  point  after  point  repeating  the 
sound,  returns  more  and  still  more  indistinct  until  it  has  recoiled  from 
the  entire  circumference.  Here  people  linger  for  hours  listening  to 
this  remarkable  echo,  tracing  the  gradual  diminution  of  sound ;  if, 

*  Extract  from  letter  of  D.  W.  Smith,  1867. 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS   TRIBUTARIES.  59 

for  instance,  a  question  is  asked,  it  will  be  distinctly  repeated  usually 
several  times;  it  then  comes  back  a  pleasant  murmur,  then  an 
indistinct  and  solemn  muttering,  murmurs  softly,  and  whispers  a 
final  farewell,  and  is  lost  in  infinitesimal  and  expanding  circles ! 

Nestled  down  at  the  very  base  of  these  gigantic  surrounding  Alps, 
as  if  seeking  and  enjoying  a  calm  repose,  hemmed  in  and  fringed  with 
a  deep  foliage,  this  lake  mirrors  the  sky  and  the  fleecy  clouds,  the 
mountains  and  the  forest,  in  its  tranquil  bosom.  Its  waters  are 
supplied  with  trout,  and  skiffs  with  fishing  and  pleasure  parties  skim 
its  placid  surface.  All  sorts  of  appliances,  cannon,  speaking- 
trumpets,  etc.,  are  furnished  with  which  to  procure  every  variety  and 
volume  of  echo,  and  a  day's  entertainment  may  be  had  here,  free, 
healthful,  and  interesting,  if  not  profitable.  Cannon  Mountain  has  a 
huge  rock  poised  upon  its  summit,  of  such  peculiar  shape  as  to  be  a 
very  accurate  likeness  of  an  immense  cannon.  This  monster  gun 
appears  to  be  in  position,  pointing  its  black  mouth  directly  across 
the  Notch  road,  as  if  prepared  to  belch  forth  flame  and  iron  hail  upon 
any  who  should  attempt  a  hostile  invasion  of  this  modern  ThermopylaB. 
Perhaps  it  is  a  simile  of  the  "  Union  Gun,"  —  a  standing  and  en- 
during menace  to  any  who  would  trifle  with  that  sacred  compact. 

The  Flume  is  one  of  those  works  or  freaks  of  nature  that  is  viewed 
with  deepening  amazement.  The  more  it  is  seen  and  examined  the 
more  intensified  becomes  this  emotion,  and  the  question  at  once  arises, 
How  came  it  so  ?  Conjecture,  speculation,  and  theory  are  resorted 
to  by  each  spectator  as  multifarious  as  the  visitors ;  luminous  but 
unsatisfactory,  for  the  great  problem  is  still  destitute  of  a  definite 
solution.  Was  it  accidentally  left  so  when  America  was  upheaved 
from  the  great  world  of  watery  waste  in  which  it  was  submerged  ? 
Was  it  a  deep  cicatrice  on  the  plastic  face  of  nature,  torn  by  some 
rough  monster  missile,  hurled  forward  and  impelled  with  impetuous 
and  resistless  force  from  the  overhanging  summit  ?  Was  the  granite 
base  of  the  everlasting  hills  riven  by  some  convulsive  throe  or  throb 
of  the  great  heart  which  swells  and  pulsates  in  the  bosom  of  mother 
Nature  ?  No  one  can  tell ;  neither  the  man  who  understands  all 
science  and  all  learning,  nor  the  most  inquisitive  Yankee  can  trace  the 
cause  ;  the  effect  alone  is  visible. 

Nearly  three  quarters  of  a  mile  the  solid  rock  is  cleft  and  rent 
asunder  some  twenty  feet,  the  sides  being  perpendicular  and  aa 


60  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

smooth  as  the  work  of  a  machine,  and  about  fifty  feet  deep.  A 
bright  and  noisy  brook  babbles  along  the  pebbly  bottom.  Situated 
in  a  romantic  forest,  spanned  by  several  rustic  bridges  with  seat 
ganged  on  either  side,  and  as  it  is  completely  surrounded  and  pro 
tected  by  a  grateful  shade,  and  a  shivery  draft  of  air  constantly 
circulates  through  its  length,  it  affords  a  most  admirable  and  desirable 
retreat  for  sweltering  and  suffering  mortals  when  Cancer,  blazing 
with  Promethean  flame,  denotes  the  torrid  solstice. 

Notwithstanding  the  magnitude  and  sublimity  of  this  remarkable 
feature,  as  if  upon  inspection  she  was  not  quite  satisfied  with  her  work, 
nature  has  prepared  a  compound  wonder.  From  the  summit  of  the 
mountain  which  frowns  dubiously  upon  the  Flume,  a  huge  granite 
boulder  has  become  detached,  and,  overcoming  every  obstacle  that  op- 
opposed  its  progress,  has  rolled  down  and  precipitated  itself  over  the 
brink  of  this  chasm,  and  hangs  suspended  near  the  top  by  the  points  of 
its  greatest  diameter,  so  that  one  passing  under  it  is  forcibly  reminded 
of  the  sword  of  Damocles,  and  involuntarily  dodges.  However,  it  is 
not  an  improvised  pile-driver,  and  there  is  no  danger  of  being  flattened 
into  a  broad  sheet  of  gold  leaf  by  its  sudden  and  unexpected  descent. 

How  long  it  may  have  been  poised  and  securely  held  in  these 
powerful  clamps  is  mere  conjecture.  Perhaps  the  frosts  and  snows 
of  many  centuries  have  fallen,  lingered,  and  dissolved  upon  it ;  cer- 
tain it  is  that  nothing  remains  to  mark  its  pathway  hither.  Huge 
trees,  that  would  have  been  overborne  by  its  resistless  weight  and 
force  had  they  been  standing,  guard  every  avenue  of  approach  to  its 
present  resting-place,  and  all  traces  of  its  track  are  entirely  obliter- 
ated. Perhaps  it  was  hurled  through  the  realms  of  space  by  some 
great  Ajax  of  the  Western  World,  which,  dropping  here,  has  left  no 
trace,  or  mark,  or  sign  of  its  career ! 

The  Old  Man  of  the  Mountain  is  another  figure  in  this  group  of 
wonders.  This  gigantic  profile  is  said  to  be  sixty  feet  from  the  fore- 
head to  the  chin,  and  creates  a  powerful  impression  on  the  mind  of 
every  beholder.  It  is  located  at  the  southern  termination  of  this 
range  at  its  highest  point,  and  stands  out  in  bold  relief,  with  features 
as  strongly  marked  and  well  defined  as  though  fresh  from  the  hands 
of  the  sculptor.  A  front  view  of  the  locality  simply  demonstrates 
the  fact  that  the  mountain  shows  nothing  peculiar  or  noticeable,  only 
a  precipitous  and  jagged  bluff,  with  furrows  and  angles ;  but  a  side 


ITS  SOUBCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  61 

view  gives  it  shape  and  develops  an  immense  and  massive  profile, 
remarkably  natural  in  outline,  perfect  in  feature,  and  surprisingly 
symmetrical  in  the  detail  and  in  the  total  of  its  entire  arrangement. 
The  altitude  of  this  profile  is  such  that  its  enormous  proportions  are 
requisite  to  give  it  life-size.  Thus,  in  likeness,  workmanship,  and 
perspective,  it  combines  the  skill  of  the  master  sculptor  with  the  per- 
fection of  his  art. 

The  throat  is  delicately  and  accurately  chiselled,  the  neck  is 
perfect,  the  shoulders  broad  and  heavy,  the  chest  deep  and  massive. 
This  is  the  Monarch  of  the  Mountains.  There  he  has  reigned  undis- 
turbed and  unquestioned  for  long,  long  ages.  The  frosts  of  countless 
centuries  have  rested  and  dissolved  on  his  massive  brow ;  still  there 
he  sits  serene  and  grim  in  his  weather-beaten  granite,  and  there 
securely  enthroned  he  will  remain  through  numberless  ages  yet  to 
come,  unless  some  terrible  convulsion  of  nature  shall  shake  the  ever- 
lasting hills  to  their  very  centre  and  overthrow  his  adamantine 
throne  !  As  it  is  with  the  Flume,  the  impression  on  first  beholding 
this  grand  spectacle  is  striking  and  impressive,  and  this  impression 
is  deepened  and  intensified  by  a  closer  observation  and  more  thor- 
ough study,  until  at  last,  turning  away  with  an  indefinable  awe,  the 
wonder  is  if  nature,  with  her  boundless  resources,  has  ever  excelled 
this  in  any  of  her  achievements. 

Directly  at  the  base  of  this  mountain  is  a  beautifully  transparent 
lake,  which  is  known  as  Profile  Lake,  or  the  Old  Man's  Wash-bowl. 
Like  all  the  other  waters  of  this  region  it  is  supplied  with  trout,  and 
is,  on  this  account,  and  to  see  the  Profile,  a  great  resort  for  sojourners 
in  this  region.  The  Profile  has  been  so  often  inaccurately  sketched 
by  pen  and  brush,  —  "the  mirror,"  as  it  were,  "held  so  poorly 
up  to  nature," — that  it  would  seem  impossible  to  do  the  subject 
complete  justice.  It  can  only  be  truly  appreciated  by  viewing  its 
gigantic  and  symmetrical  proportions. 

How  great  are  all  these  wonders !  In  the  pinching  frost,  in  the 
scorching  sun,  or  in  the  grateful  shade  of  old  primeval  trees,  let  no 
vain,  ungodly  brawler  say  it  was  all  accident  and  chance,  for,  by  the 
merest  unsubstantial  shadows  of  these  majestic  peaks,  he  stands  con- 
demned. The  foaming  cascade,  leaping  with  headlong  force  from 
steep  to  steep  in  sparkling,  laughing,  joyous,  unrestrained  freedom, 
proclaims  his  folly,  his  simplicity,  or  his  incomprehensible  depravity ! 


62  THE  MEEEIMACK  ItlVEK; 

He  who  has  yet  to  learn  that  this  is  a  conspicuous  part  of  the  great 
original  design  has  a  lesson  simple  and  easy,  which,  simple  as  it  is, 
may  overtax  and  overwhelm  his  benighted  faculties. 

Perhaps  the  most  frightfully  grand  and  terrific  of  all  the  elemental 
visitations  is  a  thunder-storm  among  the  mountains.  Fleecy  vapors, 
borne  on  lively  zephyrs,  scud  across  the  dome;  the  sun,  rolling  high, 
pours  a  flood  of  scalding  heat,  and  men  and  animals  are  fain  to  seek 
the  shade.  Soon  the  atmosphere  becomes  thick,  hazy,  and  oppres- 
sive, and  the  sun  looks  dull  and  jaundiced :  low,  distant  muttering, 
long-continued  and  oft-repeated,  is  heard ;  the  sun  now  appears  in  a 
malignant  fever;  great  thunder-heads.  —  clouds  heaped  on  clouds, — 
dark  and  dun,  roll  up  from  behind  the  mountains  and  shroud  their 
peaks  in  awful  gloom. 

Thunder,  heaven's  great  siege  artillery,  now  belches  forth  in  one 
tumultuous  crash,  the  winged  lightnings  leap  from  the  angry  clouds, 
darting  in  fiery  and  eccentric  chains,  gyrating  about  the  murky 
mountain  sides  and  dashing  remorselessly  upon  the  devoted  head 
of  some  old  forest  patriarch,  shivering  it  to  fragments  from  tip  to 
root.  Howling  like  a  pack  of  famished  wolves,  or  like  Taurus  when 
he  puts  his  muzzle  to  the  earth  and  bellows  defiance  and  the  battle- 
cry  to  his  adversary,  the  wind,  surging  around  the  mountains,  drives 
the  wild,  angry  clouds  in  furious  eddies,  and  the  dreary  darkness  of 
despair  invests  the  scene.  As  if  the  floodgates  of  heaven  were 
opened,  the  rain  descends,  and  mighty  torrents  drench  this  little 
world.  Slowly  the  clouds  retire,  the  main  body  wheeling  round 
some  distant  summit  yet  unvisited ;  the  rear  columns,  following  rap- 
idly, keep  up  for  a  while  a  desultory  pattering,  and  the  sun,  strug- 
gling through  the  vapory  veil,  shows  that  nature  can  smile  through 
her  tears  !  Rills  and  rivulets,  foul  with  the  debris  of  the  forest,  come 
noisily  tumbling  down.  The  Notch  is  now  a  broad  and  rapid  river, 
the  trees  put  on  a  brighter  green,  and  all  the  scene  looks  smiling, 
fresh,  and  gay.  The  atmosphere  is  purified,  the  burning  and  suffo- 
cating heat  is  dispelled,  and  crowds  issue  forth  to  enjoy  the  refresh- 
ing breeze  that  has  kissed  the  cleansed  and  purified  summits  of  so 
many  mountains,  and  fragrant  with  the  odors  of  the  great,  still 
dripping  wilderness ! 

Large  and  commodious  houses  have  been  erected  here  for  the  ac- 
commodation of  the  visitors  at  this  place.  As  this  is  in  no  sense  an 


ITS  SOUECE  AND  ITS   TRIBUTARIES.  63 

agricultui/1  section,  and  everything,  including  provisions,  has  to  be 
brought  here,  and  as  transportation  is  both  difficult  and  expensive, 
the  charges  at  these  houses  are  necessarily  high ;  but  the  most  sen- 
sible, as  well  as  the  most  convenient,  method  of  visiting  these  regions 
is  for  a  party  to  take  a  shelter  tent,  cooking  apparatus,  etc.,  and, 
procuring  supplies  at  the  nearest  possible  point,  camp  out,  and  sup- 
ply their  table  with  trout  and  such  game  as  is  seasonable.  Pitch  the 
tent  on  a  gentle,  grassy  slope,  under  the  generous  shade  of  grand  old 
trees,  arrange  a  comfortable  bed  of  healthy,  fragrant  hemlock  boughs, 
and  live  like  a  king.  Uniting  the  duties  of  purveyor  and  cook,  with  a 
powerful  and  convenient  appetite  and  plenty  of  fuel,  anything  that  is 
wholesome  is  relished  keenly.  Thus  with  a  small  outlay  one  may 
see  more  and  enjoy  more,  and  be  independent,  going  whithersoever 
curiosity  or  inclination  prompts,  returning  at  pleasure. 

In  this  manner  the  interval  snatched  from  toil  and  business  may 
be  profitably  employed  and  heartily  enjoyed.  Exploring  the  sylvan 
retreats,  the  cool,  secluded  glens,  the  mysterious  caverns,  the  deep, 
dark,  trackless  wood,  scaling  the  slippery  cliffs  and  towering 
pinnacles,  surveying  the  mysteries  of  this  mysterious  territory,  or 
exploring  for  others  yet  undiscovered,  reading,  refreshing  and  storing 
the  mind  from  this  illustrated  and  interesting  and  instructive  page  of 
the  book  of  nature,  is  ample  compensation  for  a  year  of  toil.  Mind 
and  body  together  recuperate,  a  new  strength  of  the  system  and  of 
resolution  is  obtained,  the  heart  is  stouter,  the  courage  stronger, 
a  renewed  and  increased  faith  displaces  doubts  and  misgivings ;  in 
short,  a  general  regeneration  or  reconstruction  (mental  and  physical) 
rewards,  in  addition  to  a  pleasant  season  of  rational  enjoyment,  those 
who  try  the  experiment. 

The  Merrimack  River  has  its  source  in  the  heart  of  the  White 
Mountain  region.  Its  head-waters  are  known  as  the  east,  middle, 
and  west  branches,  which,  uniting  in  the  town  of  Woodstock,  formerly 
Peeling,  form  at  once  a  beautiful  and  important  river.  The  east 
branch  is  much  the  most  considerable,  having  its  source  some  fifty 
miles  above  the  confluence  of  the  triangular  tributaries,  and  receiving 
many  accessions,  it  arrives  here  a  splendid  river  of  beautiful  waters, 
and  is  the  grand  central  figure,  throughout  its  whole  extent,  of  the 
great  wild  valley  of  the  upper  Merrimack,  which  comparatively  few 
people  know  anything  definite  about,  and  fewer  still  have  yet  had 


64  THE  MEEBIMACK  EIVEE; 

the  rare  fortune  to  explore.  The  middle  branch  has  its  source  in 
the  Profile  Lake,  at  the  base  of  the  Old  Man's  eternal  throne.  The 
western  branch  comes  far  up  from  the  Moosilauke  country  in  the 
wilderness  of  timber,  where  wild  beasts  maintain  as  yet  almost 
undisputed  sway,  and  all  the  tributaries  of  these  three  branches  as 
well  as  themselves,  great  and  small,  the  capillaries  of  the  Merrimack, 
are  all  alive  with  trout. 

Having  descended  from  the  great  altitude  where  its  source  is 
located,  and  traced  the  romantic  career  through  the  wild  and  secluded 
valley  until  it  has  become  a  very  considerable  and  beautiful  river, 
let  us  proceed  along  the  course  of  this  resplendent  stream,  depicting 
its  services  and  its  value  as  it  steadily  moves  forward  on  its  journey 
to  the  sea. 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  65 


CHAPTER    III. 

Franconia.  —  Lincoln.  —  Woodstock.  —  Thornton.  —  Game  and  Gunning.  —  Campton.  — 
Holderness.  —  Samuel  Livermore.  —  Plymouth.  —  Rumney  — Wentworth.  —  The  Moosi- 
laukes.  —  Bridgewater.  — Squam  Lakes  and  River.  —  New  Hampton.  —  Bristol.  —  New- 
found Lake  and  River. — Hill. — Smith's  River.  —  Orange.  —  Andover. — Salisbury. — 
Daniel  Webster.  —  Kearsarge.  —  Boscawen.  —  Franklin. 

FRANCONIA,  which  supplies  many  streams  to  swell  the  Pemige- 
wasset,  is  in  many  respects  the  most  remarkable  town  in  the  United 
States,  and  for  its  great  natural  curiosities,  its  sublime  scenery,  its 
high  mountains,  it  is  extensively  famed  ;  indeed,  it  is  believed  to  be 
in  this  country  or  any  other,  in  this  regard,  without  a  rival. 

"  One  of  the  greatest  natural  curiosities  in  the  State  is  Profile 
Mountain  in  this  place,  near  the  road  leading  to  Plymouth.  This 
mountain  rises  very  boldly  a  thousand  feet  high,  and  forms  with  its 
front  of  bare  solid  rock  a  perfect  likeness  of  a  human  face."  * 

Formerly  there  was  a  large  iron  business  done  here,  but  it  is  now 
suspended.  The  New  Hampshire  Iron  Factory  Company  was  incor- 
porated in  1805.  The  ore  which  was  mined  in  Lisbon,  three  miles 
from  the  factory,  yielded  from  fifty-six  to  sixty-three  per  cent,  pure 
iron,  and  was  thought  to  be  the  richest  mine  in  the  United  States, 
and  apparently  inexhaustible.  These  works  were  actively  operated  for 
many  years,  and  more  than  six  hundred  tons  of  hollow  ware, 
stoves,  etc.,  were  turned  out  annually,  requiring  the  consumption  of 
more  than  three  hundred  thousand  bushels  of  charcoal. 

The  principal  business  of  the  town  now  is,  next  to  agriculture,  to 
provide  and  care  for  the  mountain  visitors,  who,  it  is  estimated, 
arrive  here  at  the  rate  of  more  than  one  hundred  per  day,  exclusive 
of  private  conveyances,  during  the  season  of  mountain  travel. 

Passengers  reach  here  from  New  York,  via  Norwich,  Worcester, 
Nashua,  Concord,  and  Littleton,  or  by  stage  from  Plymouth,  or 
via  Centre  Harbor,  Conway,  and  the  Crawford  House. 

*  Geography  ft  New  Hampshire. 


60  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

As  Franconia  is  the  coolest  locality  in  the  United  States  in  the 
summer,  so  it  is  in  the  winter ;  and  whenever  a  severe  cold  term 
occurs,  the  telegraph  invariably  flashes  the  state  of  the  thermometer 
at  Franconia  all  over  the  land.  Holton  and  Marquette,  on  Lake 
Superior,  and  St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  often  exhibit  a  great  depression  of 
temperature;  but  when  looking  for  forty  degrees  below,  where  the 
temperature  is  of  such  intensity  that  the  limbs  of  trees  snap  with  a 
continuous  rattle  like  a  fusilade  of  small  fire-arms,  while  the  earth, 
and  even  the  rocks,  contract  with  reports  resembling  heavy  siege 
artillery,  by  the  terrible,  frigid  severity  of  the  atmosphere,  then  it 
is  that  Franconia's  bitter  and  appalling  polar  temperature  figures 
almost  invariably  a  trifle  lower  than  any  other  locality. 

Lincoln  is  the  next  town  following  the  river  to  Franconia,  and  is 
very  rough  and  mountainous.  There  being  but  a  small  portion  of 
tillage  land,  the  town  is  sparsely  settled.  Directly  under  the  shadow 
of  the  great  Franconia  Peaks,  it  is  subject  to  frosts  late  in  spring  and 
early  in  the  autumn  ;  consequently  the  cultivation  of  such  products 
as  are  most  affected  by  this  cause  is  generally  abandoned. 

Kinsman's  Mountain  is  so  steep  that  it  is  seamed  with  slides  which 
have  furrowed  deep  channels  in  its  sides  from  summit  to  base.  The 
greater  portion  of  the  town  is  yet  a  wilderness,  and  bears,  deer,  and 
other  smaller  game  abound. 

In  Woodstock,  formerly  Peeling,  is  the  junction  of  the  three 
branches  of  the  Pemigewasset. 

The  general  topographical  appearance  of  this  town  is  the  same  as 
Lincoln. 

There  are  four  or  five  large  ponds,  the  streams  from  which  afford 
numerous  mill-privileges,  and  are  generally  used  for  saw-mills  and 
such  purposes,  and  furnish  excellent  trouting. 

The  great  lumber  companies  of  the  lower  Merrimack,  whose  head- 
quarters are  at  Lowell,  have  obtained  an  immense  quantity  of  lumber 
from  this  town,  often  employing  in  the  timber  forests  as  many  as  a 
hundred  and  fifty  men,  who  use  this  most  useful  and  convenient 
river  for  the  conveyance  of  the  lumber.  Some  ten  million  feet  are 
annually  carried  beyond  the  limits  of  the  State. 

There  is  a  large  cave  here,  sufliciently  commodious  to  contain 
several  hundred  people,  which  is  called  the  Ice  House,  from  the  fact 
that  ice  is  obtained  in  it  all  through  the  summer.  The  walls  of  the 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  67 

cave  are  solid  granite,  and  it  communicates  with  several  subtcrra- 
Jiean  passages  or  apartments  extending  in  various  directions.  The 
Grafton  Mineral  Springs  here  are  strongly  impregnated  with  sulphui 
and  other  minerals,  and  are  resorted  to  by  invalids  who  realize  benefi- 
cial results.  Blue,  Cushman's,  and  Black  Mountains  are  the  highest 
elevations  in  the  town. 

On  Moosilauke  Brook  there  is  a  beautiful  cascade,  where  the 
water  glides  over  a  smooth  surface,  or  tumbles  in  a  milky  foam  two 
hundred  feet,  remarkably  picturesque  and  even  sublime. 

There  is  in  Thornton,  on  Hill  Brook,  a  magnificent  waterfall. 
For  thirty  feet  before  reaching  the  final  falls  the  descent  is  one  foot 
in  four,  when  it  makes  a  perpendicular  leap  of  forty-two  feet.  The 
town  was  originally  granted  to  the  Thorntons,  Mathew,  James,  and 
Andrew  ;  hence  its  name. 

Mathew  Thornton  was  born  in  Ireland,  in  1714,  and,  like  millions 
of  his  countrymen,  preferring  liberty  in  a  foreign  land  to  the  most 
galling  thraldom  at  home,  however  painful  the  struggle  when  com- 
pelled to  make  a  choice,  he  came  to  the  United  States,  and  settled 
on  the  Merrimack,  in  Londonderry,  as  a  practising  physician.  Bred 
in  the  traditional  animosity  of  his  people  towards  Great  Britain,  their 
oppressor,  he  espoused  the  cause  of  the  colonies  against  the  mother 
country  with  a  heartiness  and  ability  which  proved  him  a  hater  of 
tyranny  and  England,  and  no  mean  foe  for  her  to  contend  against. 
He  was  in  all  the  stirring  times  preceding  and  during  the  Revolu- 
tionary struggle,  a  prominent  actor  ;  was  with  Sir  William  Pepperell 
in  his  expedition  against  Louisburg,  in  1745,  and  was  president 
of  the  first  provincial  convention,  in  1775.  In  the  following  year  he 
took  his  seat  in  the  Continental  Congress,  and  had  the  fortune  to 
sign  the  roll  which  gave  his  name  merited  and  imperishable  renown, 
— •  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

Thus  Mathew  Thornton  was  "one  of  the  few  immortal  names 
that  were  not  born  to  die." 

He  died  in  1803,  after  a  long  life  of  devotion  to  the  cause  of  self- 
government,  full  of  honors,  leaving  an  unstained  character. 

The  north-eastern  boundary  of  Thornton  is  the  vast  tract  of 
ungranted  land  which  comprises  the  territory  of  the  Franconia  and 
White  Mountain  region  to  the  west  and  north,  the  Breton  Woods, 
Hart's  and  Sawyer's  locations  to  the  east,  extending  southward  to  old 


68  TEE  MEREIMACK  EIVEE; 

Chocorua  Peak.  It  is  the  very  heart  of  this  magnificent  wild  thai 
gives  the  Merrimack  to  the  use  and  profit  of  man.  In  this  great  sol- 
itude, —  which  excels  even  the  famous  Adirondac  country  in  the  wild- 
ness  and  grandeur  of  its  natural  scenery,  in  the  beauty  of  its  forests, 
the  number,  form,  and  majestic  proportions  of  its  mountains,  in  the 
solemn,  oppressive  silence  which  pervades  its  whole  extent,  in  the  num- 
ber of  its  cool,  pure,  pellucid  springs,  brooks,  and  ponds,  which  is  so 
secure  from  the  invasion  of  man  that  the  sounds  and  sights  of  civili- 
zation are  completely  shut  out  from  its  extensive  recesses,  —  there  are 
game  and  fish  worthy  of  the  sportsman's  attention,  skill,  and  courage. 
The  east  branch,  and,  in  fact,  the  whole  vast  network  of  waters  about 
the  source  of  the  Merrimack,  are  bountifully  stocked  with  trout,  and 
the  places  which  once  knew  the  superb  salmon,  it  is  hoped  and  be- 
lieved, will  soon  know  him  again.  Each  cold,  transparent  spring 
sends  down  the  mountain-side  its  inimitably  musical  rill,  which, 
meandering  through  the  shaded  reaches  of  the  forests,  pours  the 
wealth  of  its  generous  flood  into  the  cool,  secluded  pond,  which,  in 
turn,  disgorges  through  circuitous  channels  to  the  swelling  bosom  of 
the  Merrimack.  Being  a  dense,  luxuriant,  unbroken  forest,  where 
the  woodman's  axe  has  never  yet  been  heard,  many  parts  of  which 
the  white  man's  foot  has  never  traced,  the  fly  can  nowhere  be  used 
except  in  the  Pemigewasset  itself,  or  on  some  portions  of  some  of  its 
largest  tributaries,  and  on  the  ponds.  Here  the  fly,  of  a  color  best 
suited  to  the  season,  may  be  advantageously  employed,  and  the  best 
time  to  take  the  trout  is  from  the  moment  there  is  a  streak  of  day  till 
sunrise  or  after,  and  again  when  the  sun  declines  below  the  forests 
and  the  hills  until  dark.  But  the  brooks  may  be  successfully  fol- 
lowed any  portion  of  the  day,  yielding  an  abundance.  The  trout  in 
all  these  waters  are  uniformly  the  best  variety  of  salmOn  trout,  vary- 
ing in  size  of  course ;  specimens  being  taken  weighing  from  one- 
fourth  to  two  and  a  half  pounds  and  upwards,  —  the  latter  large 
enough  to  create  the  most  nervous  excitement  and  anxiety  while  the 
gorgeous  prizes  were  being  secured,  and  sufficiently  large  and  lus- 
cious to  satisfy  any  reasonable  ambition  or  palate. 

The  wealth  and  productive  capacity  of  the  vast  network  of  the 
upper  waters  of  the  Merrimack  in  the  way  of  trout,  invariably  of 
the  finest  variety,  is  astonishing.  For  many  years  thousands  of 
people  have  annually  visited  the  White  Mountain  region ;  the  gen- 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  69 

tlemen  indulge,  many  of  them,  daily,  as  also  many  of  the  ladies, 
with  a  delicious  enthusiasm,  in  the  exciting  and  exhilarating  sport 
of  trout-fishing.  Added  to  this,  parties  of  experts  are  constantly 
arriving  throughout  the  season  from  all  parts  of  New  England,  and 
still  the  supply  seems  unlimited.  A  gentleman,  in  July  of  the  pres- 
ent year,  dropped  his  hook  into  one  of  the  numerous  slender  tribu- 
taries of  the  Merrimack,  a  mere  brook  in  Thornton,  and  within  an 
hour  had  basketed  nine  of  these  princely  fish,  —  the  string  weighing 
fifteen  and  a  half  pounds,  an  average  of  about  one  and  three-fourths 
pounds.  This  is  by  no  means  a  solitary  case. 

Since  the  exodus  of  the  salmon,  fly-fishing  has  almost  fallen  into 
disuse,  and  there  are,  probably,  very  few  experts  with  the  fly  on 
these  waters;  however,  no  one  can  learn  this  art  except  with  the  rod 
in  hand,  as  all  the  conditions  differ  at  each  season  and  fishing-ground. 
A  correspondent  of  the  "American  Union,"  of  Sept.  5th,  1868,  — 
a  paper  which  not  unfrequently  contains  useful  and  interesting  in- 
formation on  the  higher  order  of  field-sports,  —  gives  some  valuable 
practical  hints,  although  he  fully  realizes  and  recognizes  the  total 
impracticability  of  theoretical  fly-fishing.  He  says  :  — 

"  The  art  of  throwing  a  long  and  light  line  can  only  be  acquired 
by  practice.  The  only  rule  I  can  give  is,  to  let  it  go  its  full  length 
out  behind  you  before  you  switch  it  forward,  and,  of  course,  study 
the  wind.  This  grand  fundamental  point  of  skill  being  reached,  — 
namely,  eluding  the  eyesight  of  the  trout,  who  all  lie  with  their 
head*  up  the  stream,  —  the  next  question  the  learner  should  ask  of 
his  instructor  is,  on  what  spot  of  the  water  shall  I  allow  my  line  to 
light  ?  It  is  only  to  be  arrived  at  inch  by  inch,  and  only  to  be  fully 
mastered  by  years  of  practice  and  observation.  The  lure  must  light 
true  to  an  inch.  Beginners  fancy  that  trout  are  scattered  in  a  ran- 
dom way  over  the  water,  and  that  they  are  just  as  likely  to  encoun- 
ter a  trout  in  one  place  as  in  another.  There  is,  perhaps,  a  prejudice 
in  favor  of  deep  pools,  which  are  generally  the  most  difficult  places 
in  which  to  kill  trouts,  from  the  quantity  of  line  which  you  must 
expose  in  order  to  reach  them.  The  strongest  trout  of  the  neighbor- 
hood selects  the  best  spot  for  feeding,  and  so  soon  grows  bigger  and 
stronger  still,  while  his  poorer  neighbors  are  struggling  for  the  means 
of  bare  existence,  — just  as  the  rich  man  in  this  world,  by  strength, 
of  funds,  tends  to  grow  rich,  while  the  poor  still  remain  poor. 


70  THE  MEERIMACK  EIVEE ; 

11  Now  the  question  is,  how  to  discover  the  spot  which  the  poten- 
tate will  have  chosen.  He  will  have  had  an  eye  to  the  likeliest  hit 
for  securing  flies  and  worms  as  they  come  down  the  stream,  or  drop 
off  trees  and  bushes.  He  will  have  also  given  careful  consideration 
for  his  bodily  ease,  not  liking,  generally  speaking,  to  be  bored  by  a 
strong  current.  But  I  could  give  the  reader  more  insight  into  this 
question  in  an  hour  at  the  river's  side  than  by  any  amount  of  writing. 
The  still  water  at  the  neck  of  what  fishers  call  the  '  stream '  —  that 
is,  the  rough,  rapid  water  as  distinguished  from  the  still,  or  pools  — 
;s  a  favorite  haunt.  In  summer,  when  the  trout  are  feeding,  the 
edges  of  pools  are  favorite  resorts.  There  the  trout  are  often  lying 
in  hundreds,  digging  with  their  snouts  into  the  banks  for  worms. 

"  While  there  are  certain  casts  that  are  nearly  always  good,  the 
general  feeding-ground  varies  with  the  weather  and  season ;  hence 
the  great  difficulty  of  arriving  at  a  thorough  comprehension  of  this 
most  important  point.  How  important,  any  one  may  understand 
when  told  that,  when  really  feeding,  the  trout  almost  all  fly  to  the 
same  character  of  water,  and  while  the  skilled  angler  is  pulling 
them  out  at  every  cast,  the  unskilled  one  is  employed  in  vainly 
thrashing  water  devoid  of  a  single  fin.  The  meal  being  finished,  or 
the  shower  of  flies  which  induced  it  having  left  the  water,  the  trout 
then  return  to  the  deeps  to  ruminate  and  digest,  and  while  this 
process  is  going  on  he  will  be  a  cunning  angler  indeed  who  will 
induce  them  to  take  his  lure. 

"  In  warm  weather  in  summer,  when  the  trout  begin  to  feed,*they 
all  leave  the  deep,  and  come  into  the  shallowest  water,  —  often  into 
water  so  shallow  that  it  hardly  covers  the  backs  of  the  large  ones. 
The  reason  of  their  doing  this  is,  that  in  the  summer  flies  hover 
near  the  surface  of  the  river,  but  seldom  fall  on  to  it,  as  they  do  in 
spring,  when  they  are  weaker ;  so  that  to  catch  them  by  a  leap  the 
trout  must  lie  near  them.  At  no  time  are  good  trout  so  little  shy, 
or  so  greedy,  as  when  they  are  lying  in  water  so  shallow  that  none 
but  the  skilful  angler  ever  thinks  of  throwing  a  line  into  it. 

"  The  next  point  to  which  I  will  advert  is  precision  of  aim.  Sup- 
pose you  know,  as  the  cunning  angler  does,  almost  to  half  an  inch, 
where  the  maw  of  his  destined  victim  is  placed  during  his  feeding- 
time,  and  that  you  understand  how  to  elude  his  watchful  eye,  there 
is  still  something  else  to  be  done  before  you  are  successful  in  a 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TBIBUTARIES.  71 

well-fished  river.  If  your  lure  falls  lightly,  and,  consequently, 
naturally,  within  an  inch  or  so  of  the  trout,  his  instinct  will  lead 
him  instantly  to  snap  at  it.  If  the  lure  be  a  bait,  he  will  proceed 
to  gorge  after  catching  it,  provided  he  does  not  feel  the  line  tighten, 
or  see  you,  when  he  will  instantly  let  go  his  hold  if  he  can.  An 
artificial  fly,  however,  he  will  reject  the  instant  he  touches  it; 
hence  the  importance  of  quick,  natural,  and  well-trained  eyesight,  in 
this  branch  of  trout-angling,  to  enable  you  to  strike  the  instant  he 
touches  the  hook,  —  that  is,  before  you  have  felt  anything.  If  your 
first  intimation  of  the  trout's  attack  in  fly-fishing  comes  from 
your  sense  of  touch,  as  is  the  case  with  ninety-nine  anglers  out 
of  a  hundred,  you  need  not  strike  at  all,  —  he  has  either  hooked 
himself,  or  else  he  is  gone. 

"  Suppose,  however,  that  you  bungle  your  cast,  and  the  lure  falls 
five  or  six  inches  from  the  trout,  he  will  then  most  likely  dart  at  it, 
but  the  odds  are  a  hundred  to  one  that  he  will  become  suspicious, 
and  turn  tail  before  reaching  it.  He  will  have  had  time  to  take 
stock  of  the  line,  the  shadow  of  the  rod,  and  very  likely  of  your- 
self. I  have,  hundreds  of  times,  on  making  a  false  throw,  seen  the 
trout  dart  from  his  lair,  with  the  view  of  seizing  the  lure,  then 
catch  sight  of  the  line,  and  wheel  back,  quick  as  lightning,  to  his 
hiding-place.  In  fishing-pools,  where  the  trout  are  digging  in  the 
banks  for  worms,  the  most  absolute  precision  of  throw  is  requisite ; 
because  the  water  being  still,  and  probably  six  or  eight  inches  deep 
about  the  edge,  —  if  deeper  than  this  you  will  do  nothing,  —  the 
line  will  certainly  be  seen ;  and  if  you  give  the  trout  a  second  for 
reflection,  he  will  infallibly  say,  '  No,  thank  you,'  to  your  proffered 
morsel. 

"  When  the  streams  are  low  and  clear,  there  is  nothing  more 
important  than  fine  tackle ;  the  finest,  roundest  gut  that  can  be 
obtained  to  be  used,  and  the  joinings  should  be  firmly  and  neatly 
knotted.  Never  use  loops.  .  A  loop  is  an  abomination  in  the  eyes 
of  a  well-fed  lowland  trout.  It  is  undoubtedly  curious  that  when  a 
trout  will  confidently  seize  a  minnow,  or  a  worm,  with  two  or  three 
hooks  sticking  through  it,  the  sight  of  a  bit  of  coarse  or  flat  gut 
will  terrify  him  out  of  his  wits,  or,  to  speak  more  correctly,  perhaps, 
will  terrify  him  into  them.  It  is  certainly  true,  however,  that  line, 
and  not  hooks,  is  what  he  dreads.  For  this,  and  for  another  reason, 


72  THE  MERRIMACK  EIVEK; 

the  less  line  you  throw  into  the  water  the  better.  The  other 
reason  is,  that,  as  a  general  rule,  the  less  line  you  have  in  the 
water,  the  more  natural  will  be  the  movement  of  your  lure.  Sup- 
pose the  stream,  at  the  spot  where  it  alights,  to  be  running  at  three 
miles  an  hour,  and  that  the  upper  part  of  your  line  falls  where  it  is 
running  at  six  miles  an  hour,  it  is  plain  that  your  hook  will  be 
dragged  down  in  an  unnatural,  and,  therefore,  suspicious  manner/' 
Game,  of  the  larger  varieties,  is  plenty  in  this  great  \filderness, 
but  on  account  of  the  almost  inaccessible  mountains,  the  deep 
gorges,  and  the  secluded  glens,  is  not  so  easily  taken  as  in  some 
other  parts  of  the  country.  Margins  of  lakes,  ponds,  and  water- 
courses are  pathed  by  the  deer,  bear,  and  other  animals.  Deer, 
being  mild  and  harmless,  have  many  enemies,  not  the  least  of  which 
is  man.  The  natural  defence  of  the  deer  against  a  world  of  foes  is 
fleetness  of  foot ;  but  the  deep  snows  of  winter  in  these  high,  north- 
ern latitudes  sadly  interfere  with  the  rapidity  of  his  locomotion,  and 
he  falls  a  victim  to  the  appetite  of  many  voracious  brutes.  At  this 
season  of  the  year  the  habit  of  the  deer  is  to  "yard,"  as  it  is 
called.  Selecting,  if  possible,  an  extensive  growth,  of  low  hemlock, 
they  assemble  in  small  numbers,  and,  by  moving  about  to  browse 
the  branches,  keep  the  snow  trodden.  If  the  depth  of  snow  per- 
mits, they  move  as  soon  as  they  have  trimmed  this  yard  closely,  but 
a  deep  snow  and  a  hard,  thick  crust  are  fatal  if  their  retreat  is  dis- 
covered by  man  or  hungry  beasts ;  their  weight  and  sharp  hoofs 
cutting  through  at  every  bound  the  soft,  deep  snow  underneath, 
leaving  no  solid  basis  to  spring  from.  A  man,  living  on  the  eastern 
border  of  the  ungranted  land,  showed  the  party  where  he  captured 
seven  in  this  manner,  early  in  the  day,  a  mile  only  from  his  house, 
the  poor  creatures  being  entirely  helpless.  Encamped  in  the  soli- 
tary depths  of  this  wide  wilderness,  with  a  few  choice  spirits,  near 
some  tumbling  torrent  of  sweet  waters,  whose  liquid  music,  more 
delicious  than  a  viol,  harp,  or  grand  piano,  lulls  one  to  repose,  far 
away  from  the  bustle,  din,  and  strife  of  the  great  city ;  or  with  a 
raft  of  logs  —  a  pleasant  but  primitive  mode  of  navigation  —  float  on 
the  tranquil  surface  of  the  mountain  pond,  and  see  the  blue  sky  and 
fleecy  clouds  gaze  down  upon  themselves  in  its  clear  depths,  or  the 
bright  stars,  like  glittering  eyes  of  countless  mermaids,  flashing  up 
irom  the  apparently  unfathomable  deep  to  snuff  the  sweet  zephyrs 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  73 

freighted  Adth  health  and  the  fragrance  of  the  forests,  to  seek  recre- 
ation, comfort,  and  sport  in  these  grandly  furnished  apartments  in 
the  great  temple  of  nature,  to  feast  on  trout  and  mountain  grouse, 
concluding  the  day's  enjoyment  with  a  sweet  and  pleasant  meer- 
schaum, is  a  luxury  fit  for  a  king,  or  any  other  man. 

As  the  shades  of  night  approach,  and  the  lengthening  shadows 
give  admonition  that  the  sun  is  sinking  fast  behind  the  western 
hills,  and  night  and  darkness  creep  slowly  on,  one  reflects  that  he 
is  almost  helpless  in  this  great  wildwood,  surrounded  by  fierce 
beasts  and  an  impenetrable  gloom,  and  a  kind  of  pleasant  or  not 
disagreeable  loneliness  steals  over  the  feelings.  The  city  —  where, 
in  gilded  palaces  and  gorgeous  costume  vice  reigns  triumphant  now ; 
the  interminable  lines  of  brilliant  gas-lights,  where  the  struggle  and 
turmoil  for  the  almighty  dollar  is  now  progressing ;  where  the  rush 
for  the  bulletins  and  the  news  is  so  furious;  where  all  the  elements, 
good  and  bad,  of  the  human  character  are  wrought  to  the  highest 
pitch  and  strained  to  the  utmost  tension  for  good  or  for  evil,  —  in 
this  regard  almost  a  neutrality,  —  comes  rushing  in  a  blaze  of  arti- 
ficial glory  to  the  view,  and  the  mind  involuntarily  recoils,  and  the 
feeling  is,  "I  am  safer  here  than  there,  and  better,  socially, 
morally,  and  physically."  The  blazing  camp-fire  now  throws  out  its 
lurid  glare,  and  the  countless  trunks  of  giant  trees,  stretching  into 
the  darkness  beyond  the  farthest  scintilla  of  illumination,  seem 
columns  in  the  giant's  causeway  of  this  wilderness,  or  pendent 
stalactites  in  this  mammoth  cave  of  overarching  foliage.  Cries  of 
wild  beasts  are  heard  about  the  neighborhood,  attracted  hither,  no 
doubt,  by  the  glaring  fire,  or  the  flavor  of  savory  cooking ;  but  they 
are  not  dangerous,  the  most  serious  consequences  of  their  proximity 
being  the  electric  shock  experienced  at  their  terrifying  cries,  the 
wild  bound  of  the  heart,  and  then  its  pause,  the  awful  terror  that 
thrills  the  soul,  and  the  apparently  intoxicated  reeling  of  the  trees. 
Only  a  few  years  since  a  wildcat  was  killed  near  Thornton,  which 
was  fierce  and  powerful. 

The  party  around  the  camp-fire  received  a  visit  from  one  of  the 

buff,  bobtailed  species,  whose  weight  was  estimated  at  between  thirty 

and  forty  pounds ;  and  less  than  ten  years  ago,  one  of  the  monster 

brutes  of  this  great  wilderness,  which  had  strayed  away  from  his 

10 


74  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

haunt,  was  killed  in  Lee,  a  monster  panther  weighing  one  hundred 
and  ninety-eight  pounds. 

Mountain  grouse  are  very  plenty  and  delicious ;  sable  and  mink 
are  profitably  trapped,  and  Canadian  otter  are  frequently  taken; 
but  the  fox,  that  sly,  cunning  rascal,  avoids  these  solitudes,  and  is 
rarely  found  far  from  the  habitations  of  men.  Reynard  has  an 
unconquerable  appetite  for  poultry ;  consequently  the  rugged  cliffs, 
and  bleak  mountains,  and  desert  wastes  of  this  unsettled  wilderness 
have  no  charms  for  him ;  his  tastes  run  in  the  direction  of  open  and 
cultivated  places,  where  the  gospel,  is  preached  and  chickens  are 
raised.  Thus,  Sunday,  under  that  patron  of  morality,  the  church, 
while  people  assemble  for  worship,  and  under  "that  patroness  of 
rogues,"  the  moon,  when  people  are  at  rest,  this  sly  old  reprobate 
prowls  for  his  prey. 

The  raccoon,  or,  as  he  is  commonly  called,  the  coon,  abounds  in 
all  the  forests,  especially  the  nut-bearing  woods,  which  border  the 
Merrimack  and  its  branches,  and  is  an  animal  worthy  of  some  atten- 
tion. Except  in  one  single  particular,  he  is  perfectly  harmless,  and 
that  is  a  decided  taste  for  Indian  corn,  —  at  no  time,  however,  except 
when  it»is  in  the  "milk."  His  depredations  are  annoying  to  the 
farmer,  as  his  usual  practice  is  to  break  down  an  ear,  strip  the  husk 
from  one  side,  take  a  mouthful,  and  proceed  to  break  down  another. 
Chestnut,  walnut,  and  oak  forests  are  his  usual  haunts,  these  nuts 
being  his  favorite  feed  ;  he,  however,  loves  frogs,  like  a  Frenchman, 
and  the  skilled  coon-hunter  directs  his  course  to  a  stream  passing 
through  nut-bearing  woods,  where  the  coon  expects  to  luxuriate  on 
nuts  and  frogs'  legs.  He  is  never  hunted  in  the  daytime,  being  a 
nocturnal  rambler.  The  most  favorable  time  for  coon-hunting  is 
regarded  by  experts  as  during  the  October  moon,  as  at  that  time 
the  young  ones  are  well  grown  and  fat.  Proceeding  to  the  vicinity 
of  a  stream,  the  margin  of  which  is  the  most  "likely"  place  to 
"pick  up"  a  fresh  track,  giving  time  for  the  animal  to  wander 
some  distance  from  his  den,  in  a  ledge  or  hollow  tree,  the  hunter 
must  have  a  stanch,  well-trained  coon  dog,  or  nothing  can  be  accom- 
plished, as  tracks  of  other  animals  bewilder  an  unreliable  dog. 
Towards  nine  o'clock  the  dogs  are  let  out,  and  if  there  is  a  coon  in  the 
vicinity  he  is  soon  treed.  As  many  as  three  are  frequently  taken, 
and  sometimes  five  from  a  single  tree.  At  this  season  he  is  uniformly 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  75 

fat,  and  is  excellent  eating,  making  a  superb  fricassee,  care  being 
taken,  in  dressing,  to  remove  the  "  kernels "  or  fatty  secretions 
directly  under  the  fore  legs,  which  secures  the  meat  from  that  strong 
musky  flavor,  which  otherwise  renders  it  entirely  unpalatable.  In 
1865,  E.  L.  Chapman,  Esq.,  proprietor  of  Chapman's  Hotel,  Epping, 
N.  H.,  shot  a  fine  specimen,  weighing  thirty-three  pounds.  There 
is  a  true  nobility  of  sport  in  successful  coon-hunting  not  realized  or 
appreciated  except  by  those  possessing  a  genuine  taste  for  it,  and 
who  are  generally  philosophers  in  some  sense,  naturalists  in  another, 
and  invariably  splendid  fellows. 

The  woodcock,  in  its  annual  migration  northward,  arrives  in  the 
Merrimack  Valley  early  in  the  spring,  advancing  with  the  season, 
often  before,  or  more  rapidly  than  the  tardy  approach  of  mild 
weather  would  seem  to  warrant.  It  breeds  early,  and  its  eggs  are 
sometimes  seen  deposited  on  some  dry,  protected  spot,  contempo- 
raneous with  surrounding  patches  of  snow.  It  is,  however,  a  hardy 
bird,  and  these  unfavorable  conditions  neither  interfere  with  its 
habits  nor  its  regular  semi-annual  hegira.  It  is  exclusively  a  ground 
bird,  —  never  alighting  on  trees,  —  and  its  favorite  feeding-grounds 
are  dry  alder-swamps,  corn-fields,  and  such  other  localities  as  supply 
food,  and  are  easy  to  penetrate  with  its  long,  robust  beak.  The 
gunning  season  commences  the  first  of  August,  at  which  time  the 
young  are  nearly  full-grown,  and  the  birds  are  uniformly  in  excellent 
condition,  and  continues  until  the  ground  is  closed  by  frost,  when 
the  birds  retire  to  winter-quarters  in  a  more  congenial  clime.  In 
woodcock-shooting,  as  experienced  sportsmen  well  understand,  it  is 
policy  for  two  to  gun  together,  and,  seeking  the  most  approved  feed- 
ing grounds,  with  a  pair  of  stanch  and  well-trained  setter  or  pointer 
dogs,  the  party  not  unfrequently  bag  from  two  to  two  and  a  half 
dozens  of  these  fine  birds,  besides  generally  a  small  assortment  of 
grouse,  pigeons,  plover,  gray  squirrels,  etc.,  etc.  Woodcock-shooting 
is  a  most  delightful  and  exciting  sport,  there  being,  perhaps, 
nothing  in  New  England,  in  the  way  of  gunning  (for  birds),  away 
from  the  sea-shore,  which  can  equal  it.  The  flesh  of  this  bird  is 
esteemed  a  rare  delicacy ;  the  sport  is  exciting  and  exhilarating,  an6 
the  taste  and  skill  of  those  who  most  indulge  in  it  designate  them 
as  the  true  nobility  of  sportsmen.  Another  feature,  attractive  to 
many,  is  that  as  these  birds  are  eagerly  sought  in  the  market,  at 


76  THE  MEEBIMACK  E1VER; 

five  dollars  and  upwards  per  dozen,  the  skilful  sportsman  may  make 
it  as.profitable  as  pleasant. 

Upland  plover,  a  bird  of  fine  flavor,  is  also  frequently  met  with, 
not,  however,  in  such  numbers  as  to  make  the  sport,  like  that  of 
woodcock-shooting,  a  specialty. 

Gray  squirrels,  and  occasionally  black,  are  numerous  throughout 
all  the  territory  watered  by  the  Merrimack  and  its  tributaries.  Their 
especial  haunts  are  precisely  those  of  the  raccoon,  their  food  being 
similar,  —  acorns,  nuts,  and  corn.  Oak,  walnut,  and  chestnut 
woods  and  the  borders  of  cultivated  sections  are  the  favorite  resorts 
of  the  gray  squirrel.  Successful  gunning  for  this  animal  requires 
experience  and  much  prudence,  as  he  is  wary,  active,  and  cunning. 
There  are  two  principal  methods  of  squirrel-hunting,  both  practised 
in  turn  by  the  knowing  ones.  The  first  is  this  :  each  individual 
sportsman  repairs  alone  to  the  nut-bearing  forests  before  the  frost  has 
nipped  the  leaves  and  thinned  the  foliage ;  reaching  an  approved 
locality,  the  sportsman  at  once  stations  himself  in  a  position  to  attract 
the  least  attention,  while  he,  at  the  same  time,  may  obtain  a  good 
view  of  the  surrounding  trees  and  overhanging  branches.  Having 
secured  an  advantageous  location,  he  maintains  a  stolid  immobility 
and  silence;  the  unsuspecting  victim  approaches  within  range, 
when  the  unerring  "  double-barrel  "  speaks  sharp  and  quick,  and  he 
comes  down.  Having  bagged  several  in  that  vicinity,  and  spread 
consternation  by  the  repeated  report  of  his  piece,  the  sportsman 
moves  to  some  other  locality,  and  operates  in  the  same  manner 
as  before.  This  method  is  known  to  sportsmen  as  the  "still  hunt.  " 
When  autumn  and  frost  have  stripped  the  tall  chestnuts  and  oaks  of 
their  summer  dress,  the  sportsman,  with  a  trusty  squirrel  dog,  again 
repairs  to  the  same  forests.  At  this  time  much  depends  on  the  dog, 
who  is  not  only  expected  to  "  tree  "  the  animal,  but  to  indicate,  un- 
erringly, precisely  what  tree  the  squirrel  is  on.  There  is  no  section 
of  the  Merrimack  Valley  in  New  Hampshire,  even  to  its  extreme 
head-waters,  where  gray  squirrels  are  not  plentiful,  and  there  is  no 
season  when  the  experienced  sportsman  may  not  enjoy  a  pleasant 
and  profitable  day's  gunning  for  this  description  of  game.  The  flesh 
of  the  squirrel  is  esteemed  by  many  as  a  luxury,  and  is  certainly  a 
savory  delicacy,  and  its  fur  is  also  of  some  value.  Hares,  in  large 
numbers,  abound  in  all  except  the  mountain  forests  of  the  Merrimack 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  77 

Valley.  The  gunning  season  commences  about  Christmas  time,  and 
continues  until  "March  Meeting;"  it  is  prosecuted  to  the  best 
advantage  in  sheltered  swamps,  where,  usually,  as  many  as  is 
desirable  may  be  obtained.  They  are  "  run"  in  the  same  manner 
as  the  fox,  describing,  however,  circles  of  less  diameter,  though,  per- 
haps, more  eccentric.  The  best  hare  dog  is  a  cross  (half  hound), 
as  it  reduces  the  natural  disposition  to  range,  or  leave  the  track  for 
that  of  the  fox  or  larger  game.  The  hare  is  harmless  to  the  products 
of  the  farm,  changes  his  grayish-brown  coat  in  the  fall  for  a  suit  of 
spotless  white,  and  -is  hunted  exclusively  for  his  flesh,  which  is 
regarded  by  most  people  as  excellent  food. 

The  territory  which  is  now  included  in  the  towns  of  Campton  and 
Rumney  was  purchased  by  a  party  of  actual  settlers.  While  making 
the  necessary  surveys  and  other  arrangements  for  permanent  occupa- 
tion, they  constructed  and  dwelt  in  a  temporary  camp ;  hence  the 
name.  Mad  River,  one  of  the  tributaries  of  the  Pemigewasset,  is  a 
rapid,  and,  at  times  of  high  water,  a  furious  stream.  Its  source  is  in 
the  mountains,  to  the  north-east  in  the  ungranted  territory,  and 
unites  with  the  Pemigewasset  in  this  town,  and  is  well  known  to 
sportsmen.  Squam  Mountain  is  in  this  town.  The  view  from 
Mt.  Prospect  is  splendid ;  except,  perhaps,  from  Red  Hill  in  Moul- 
tonborough,  it  is  believed  the  view  of  Lake  Winnipesaukee  is  the 
finest  to  be  obtained  anywhere,  and  a  large  portion  of  the  southern 
part  of  the  State  may  be  surveyed  from  this  fine  mountain.  It  ia 
often  visited  by  excursion  parties,  being  less  than  five  miles  from  the 
Pemigewasset  House  in  Plymouth.  Mad  and  two  other  small 
rivers  fall  into  the  Pemigewasset  on  the  east  or  left  bank.  Plum- 
bago is  found  in  large  quantities,  and  of  a  superior  quality.  Iron 
and  other  minerals  are  also  found. 

Livermore's  Falls  are  in  the  Pemigewasset  in  this  town;  they 
exhibit  evidence  of  volcanic  formation,  and  considerable  fragments  of 
lava  have  been  found.  In  1752,  four  men,  namely,  John  and 
William  Stark,  of  Derryfield,  now  Manchester :  David  Stinson,  of 
Londonderry,  and  Amos  Eastman,  of  Pennacook,  were  trapping  on 
Baker's  River,  in  what  is  now  Rumney,  but  was  a  portion  of  the 
Campton  grant  of  Captain  Spencer;  they  were  discovered  by  a  party 
of  Indians,  who  resolved  to  capture  them.  Thinking  they  observed 
Indian  signs,  the  trappers  determined  to  take  up  their  traps  an<r 


78  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

leave,  as  they  had  nearly  three  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  furs  and 
other  property  to  secure.  Accordingly,  on  the  28th  of  April,  while 
in  the  act  of  taking  up  a  trap,  John  Stark  was  captured.  William 
Stark  made  his  escape,  and,  while  attempting  to  do  the  same,  David 
Stinson  was  killed  and  scalped.  Eastman  was  captured,  and  John 
Stark  and  Eastman  were  taken  as  captives  to  St.  Francis.  As  is 
the  custom  with  the  Indians,  the  prisoners,  on  arriving,  were  com- 
pelled to  run  the  gauntlet,  between  two  files  of  Indians.  Eastman 
went  first,  and  was  horribly  bruised  and  kicked,  they  having  pre- 
viously been  instructed  to  repeat  a  sentence  in  Indian,  which  signified 
that  they  would  beat  all  the  young  men  of  the  tribe.  Stark,  instead 
of  repeating  this,  declared,  in  a  loud  voice,  he  would  kiss  all  the 
young  women ;  and,  being  athletic,  the  few  buffets  he  received  were 
returned  with  such  earnestness  and  interest,  that  some  were  knocked 
down,  and  others,  alarmed  at  his  boldness  and  prowess,  were  fain  to 
allow  him  a  peaceable  transit. 

Stark  became  a  great  favorite  with  the  Indians,  and,  both  being 
ransomed  in  the  July  following,  they  required  double  the  price  for 
Stark  that  they  did  for  Eastman.  John  Stark  lived  to  be  the  hero 
of  the  important  battle  of  Bennington,  and  won  unfading  laurels. 

Great  and  Little  Squam  Lakes  are  located  principally  in  Holder- 
ness.  Squam  River,  which  discharges  the  waters  of  these  two  lakes, 
falls  into  the  Pemigewasset  near  the  south-west  angle  of  the  town,  on 
its  east  bank,  immediately  below  Bridgewater  Falls. 

The  great  corporations  along  the  lower  Merrimack  have  provided 
artificial  means  to  draw  the  whole  surface  of  these  two  lakes,  reduc- 
ing them  several  feet  when  the  dry  season  affects  the  natural  volume 
of  the  river.  Thus  the  Winnepesaukee  and  Squam  are  a  treasury 
of  waters  from  which  to  draw  a  never-failing  supply  to  keep  the 
wheels  and  spindles  moving. 

There  are  excellent  mill  privileges  here  and  shops  of  various 
kinds,  saw  and  grain  mills,  paper-mills,  and  some  cloth  manufactur- 
ing, shoe-peg  factories,  etc.  The  town  was  granted  to  John  Shep- 
ard  and  others,  in  1751.  Hon.  Samuel  Livermore  settled  in  this 
town  in  1765,  and  became  proprietor  of  a  large  part  of  its  territory. 
He  was  a  leading  and  prominent  man  in  this  section,  and  for  several 
years  was  attorney-general  for  the  crown.  He  was  a  judge,  and  for 
eight  years  United  States  Senator,  from  1793  to  1801. 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TEIBUTARIES.  79 

Hi  was  a  man  of  good  abilities,  dignified,  austere,  and  possessed 
great  self-esteem.  When  in  Congress,  like  some  of  his  successors, 
he  sometimes  ventured  into  deep  water,  and  was  rescued  by  the  exer- 
tions of  friends,  or  perhaps  by  the  forbearance  and  magnanimity  of 
his  antagonist. 

Mr.  William  Shepard,  a  native  of  Holderness,  and  a  descendant 
of  John  Shepard,  the  original  settler,  who  died  recently  in  London- 
derry at  an  advanced  age,  and  who  accompanied  Judge  Livermore 
during  several  sessions  of  Congress,  related  many  anecdotes  bearing 
on  this  point. 

Mr.  Shepard  at  that  time  was  above  his  majority,  consequently 
old  enough  to  retain  an  accurate  recollection  of  the  personal  appear- 
ance of  many  of  the  principal  men  of  that  time,  such  as  Generals 
Washington,  Hamilton,  the  elder  Adams,  Jefferson,  Robert  Goodlow 
Harper,  Judge  Cooper,  John  Randolph,  and  others,  as  well  as  the 
part  which  Judge  Livermore  took  in  the  stirring  political  drama 
which  these  historic  actors  were  performing  at  that  period.  As  Mr. 
Shepard  retained  possession  of  his  faculties  in  a  remarkable  degree 
to  his  last  days,  the  fund  of  reminiscence,  incidents,  and  anecdotes 
which  came  into  his  possession  by  personal  observation  was  very 
extensive  and  highly  entertaining,  and  it  may  also  be  observed  that 
few  ordinary  men  ever  enjoyed  the  rare  fortune  of  meeting  with  so 
many  illustrious  men  as  fell  to  the  lot  of  Mr.  Shepard.  Judge  Liv- 
ermore died  in  Holderness,  where  he  had  resided  uninterruptedly  for 
nearly  forty  years,  in  1803. 

Judge  Samuel  Livermore  was  an  educated,  courteous,  and  high- 
toned  gentleman,  but  conceited,  self-willed,  and  arbitrary.  His 
habitation  was  in  the  clouds,  and  he  never  descended  to  mix  or 
mingle  with  ordinary  mortals.  He  was  occasionally  admired,  gen- 
erally respected,  sometimes  feared,  but  never  loved.  He  possessed 
but  little  sympathy  with  his  kind,  and,  leaving  no  enduring  monu- 
ment of  positive  greatness,  was  soon  forgotten  when  the  grave  closed 
over  him.  In  his  day  he  was,  undoubtedly,  the  great  man  of  New 
Hampshire,  but  his  local  pre-eminence  or  prominence  was,  perhaps, 
due  more  to  the  scarcity  of  men  above  mediocrity  in  the  State  than 
to  his  intrinsic  merits  in  that  direction,  intellectually  considered. 
His  natural  force  of  character  and  self-will  gave  him  a  position  in 
the  front  rank  of  his  contemporaries ;  still,  when  he  had  passed 


80  THE  MERRIMACR  EIVER; 

away,  the  record  of  his  career  proved  a  meagre  theme  for  history. 
Though  a  strong,  sagacious  man,  his  bitter  prejudices  and  arbitrary 
spirit  made  him  unreliable  in  party  and  public  relations,  and, 
although  respected  and  counselled  with  by  such  men  as  Hamil- 
ton, and  other  of  the  foremost  men  of  his  time,  yet  he  was  of  such 
brittle  material,  and  required  such  careful  handling,  that  he  waa 
probably  not  a  coveted  acquisition  to  any  party,  or  in  forwarding 
any  scheme.  In  his  congressional  career  he  was  active,  watchful, 
and  efficient  in  the  practical  details  of  legislation,  but  never  grappled 
with  the  great  questions  of  national  policy  that  divided  men  and  par- 
tie's  and  brought  out  the  herculean  efforts  of  a  race  of  giants ;  he 
also  had  the  prudence,  generally,  to  avoid  the  contact  in  the  forum 
of  the  great  men,  as  he  did  of  important  measures.  As  a  judge, 
he  loved  justice  and  administered  it  impartially,  without  either 
prejudice  or  sympathy.  He  was  not  a  great  lawyer  or  great  judge, 
yet  he  was  honest,  impartial,  and  scrupulously  faithful  in  the  per- 
formance of  all  his  judicial  duties. 

Plymouth  and  Haverhill  are  the  shires  of  Grafton  County.  Baker's 
River,  which  rises  in  Moosilauke  Mountain,  effects  a  junction  with 
the  Pemigewasset  on  its  west  or  right  bank  in  Plymouth.  The  river 
is  named  in  honor  of  Capt.  Baker,  of  Haverhill,  Mass.,  who  attacked 
the  Indian  settlement  at  its  mouth,  routed  them,  and  captured  con- 
siderable booty,  furs,  etc. 

The  Pemigewasset  House,  in  Plymouth,  is  one  of  the  largest  and 
most  famous  hotels  in  the  State.  There  is  a  court-house  here,  and 
an  excellent  seminary,  which  is  in  a  flourishing  condition. 

From  this  place  there  is  a  good  stage  road  through  the  valley  of 
the  Pemigewasset  to  Franconia  Notch,  a  distance  of  about  thirty 
miles. 

Rumney,  north  of  Plymouth,  on  Baker's  River,  is  a  beautiful 
village  at  the  mouth  of  a  large  stream  called  Stinson's  Brook,  the 
outlet  of  Stinson's  Pond,  so  called  in  honor  of  David  Stinson,»of 
Londonderry,  who  was  killed  here  by  the  Indians.  Stinson's  Moun- 
tain is  also  in  this  town. 

From  the  village  the  road  to  Ellsworth  through  Doetown,  so 
called,  winds  up  a  long,  steep  hill.  Arriving  at  the  summit,  which 
may  be  one  and  a  half  or  two  miles  from  the  village,  the  most 
delightful  landscape  bursts  upon  the  view.  Looking  down  the  long, 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TEIBUT ARIES.  81 

wearying  declivity  just  ascended,  the  neat  village  of  white  cottages 
nestles  on  the  broad  green  lawn  which  stretches  away  to  the  river, 
meandering  like  a  wavy  belt  of  silver,  with  its  picturesque,  covered 
bridge.  Just  beyond,  and  parallel  with  the  river,  the  handsome 
dwellings,  built  along  the  hill-side,  terraced  and  hedged  and  orna- 
mented with  fruit  and  shade  trees  ;  to  the  left  is  the  hill  and  dale 
down  to  Plymouth  and  the  Pemigewasset  valley ;  a  little  farther  left 
the  peaks  of  the  grim  and  bare  Sandwich,  and  the  grand  and  densely 
wooded  Squam  Mountains;  to  the  right,  Stinson's  Pond,  a  long, 
narrow  stretch  of  water,  with  hills  to  shut  it  in  from  the  west,  while 
turning  to  the  north  is  seen  a  promiscuous  assembly  of  mountains, 
rising  high  and  still  higher,  —  Moosilauke  towering  above  his  fel- 
lows, Lafayette  in  the  distance,  and  Mt.  Washington  in  the  rear 
rank,  looking  cool  and  pure  over  all  other  heads. 

There  are  grander  views  than  this,  more  extensive,  affording  a 
greater  amount  and  variety  of  land  and  water  scenery ;  but  for  un- 
pretending loveliness,  for  a  combination  peculiar  and  rare,  giving 
the  whole  vista  an  indescribable  charm,  there  are  few  places  to  equal 
this,  none  to  excel. 

Still  further  up  the  river  is  Wentworth.  There  being  a  fall  of 
twenty  feet,  the  river  here  affords  good  water-power. 

Moosilauke  Mountain  is  the  highest  elevation  west  of  the  White 
and  Franconia  ranges.  The  north  peak  is  four  thousand  seven 
hundred  feet  high,  and  is  a  conspicuous  object  from  all  the  country 
round,  far  into  Vermont.  There  are  inexhaustible  quarries  of  lime- 
stone here,  and  along  Baker's  River  and  about  the  Moosilauke, 
minerals  in  great  variety  abound.  Plumbago,  tin,  galena,  lead, 
iron,  tremolite,  black  blende,  and  crystallized  epidote,  are  found. 

The  beautiful  Pemigewasset,  having  received  at  Plymouth  the 
addition  to  its  steadily  increasing  volume  of  Baker's  River,  sweeps 
along  the  eastern  boundary  of  Bridgewater,  receiving,  as  it  passes  the 
succeeding  towns,  the  copious  additions  of  Newfound  and  Smith's 
Rivers,  from  the  west  or  right  bank,  and  Squam  on  the  east  or  left. 
Squam  River  has  its  source  in  Squam  Lakes  (Great  and  Little), 
which  extend  into  several  towns  to  the  east  of  the  Pemigewasset  and 
near  the  unsettled  territory. 

Newfound  River  has  its  source  in  the  large  lake  of  the  same 
11 


82  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

name,  which  extends  into  several  towns  to  the  west  of  the  Pemige- 
wasset,  and  is  admirably  adapted  to  manufacturing  purposes.  In- 
deed, it  is  believed  that  Bristol  will  soon  be  a  famous  manufacturing 
town. 

There  was  an  academical  and  theological  institution  established  in 
New  Hampton  nearly  fifty  years  ago,  under  the  patronage  of  the 
Baptists;  also  a  female  seminary,  justly  famed  for  the  completeness 
of  its  instruction  and  the  picturesque  beauty  of  surrounding  scenery. 
These  institutions  were  removed  to  Vermont  some  time  since,  but 
there  is  an  academy  where  mental  and  physical  improvement  may  be 
obtained. 

There  is  a  peculiar  spring  on  a  hill  in  this  town  which  is  never 
affected  by  wet  or  dry  weather,  maintaining  an  even  tenor  and  issu- 
ing a  stream  sufficiently  large  to  carry  mills  located  along  the  course 
of  its  waters.  There  is  also  a  peculiarly  formed  hill,  called  the 
"  Cone,"  being  remarkably  conical,  and  noticeable  from  the  sur- 
rounding country  many  miles  distant.  The  view  from  its  summit  is 
most  charming. 

New  Hampton  village  is  nearly  one  mile  in  length,  is  very  level, 
parallel  with,  and  about  a  mile  from,  the  Pemi<iewasset.  It  is 
pretty,  pleasant,  and  quiet,  and,  only  for  the  beautiful  school-girls, 
the  stillness  would  be  absolutely  painful. 

A  very  noticeable  feature  of  the  village  is  a  row  of  nine  large 
trees,  directly  in  front  of  the  hotel,  the  middle  one  being  the  tallest, 
and  those  on  either  side  gradually  and  proportionately  declining  in 
height,  presenting  the  appearance  of  having  been  shaped  by  the  de- 
signing hand  of  man.  This,  however,  is  not  the  fact,  it  being  the 
result  of  natural  growth ;  and,  as  the  trees  are  very  near  together, 
the  branches  interlace  so  closely  that  it  appears  only  a  single  mon- 
ster tree-top.  This  unique  feature  attracts  the  notice  of  strangers 
perhaps  as  much  as  the  fine  school-buildings,  or  the  extensive  and 
most  fragrant  flower-garden  adjoining. 

Directly  at  the  bridge,  on  the  highway  from  New  Hampton  to 
Bristol,  is  the  head  of  the  Bristol  Falls.  From  this  point  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Newfound,  —  some  eight  miles  by  the  course  of  the 
river,  —  the  fall  is  continuous,  though  not  rapid,  until  within  a  short 
distance  of  its  foot.  The  topography  of  the  adjacent  land  is  very 
favorable  for  canals  and  factories,  the  chance  and  the  material  for 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  83 

constructing  a  dam  is  excellent,  and  the  perpendicular  fall  is  more 
than  thirty  feet. 

The  population  of  Bristol  is  estimated  at  fully  two  thousand,  hav- 
ing doubled,  both  in  population  and  resources,  since  the  last  general 
census.  Newfound  River,  the  outlet  of  the  lake  of  the  same 
name,  passes  directly  through  the  entire  length  of  the  village,  which 
may  be  said  to  extend  already  nearly  the  whole  course  of  the  stream ; 
and  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  the  village  will  cluster  along  its 
whole  extent.  This  river  is,  perhaps,  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
streams  in  the  State,  being  but  two  miles  in  its  entire  extent,  and 
the  liveliest  two  miles  of  river  to  be  found  anywhere.  The  total  fall 
is  upward  of  two  hundred  feet,  one  hundred  of  which  is  comprised 
within  fifty  rods  of  its  confluence  with  the  Pemigewasset,  the  latter 
stream  sweeping  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  town.  There  is  no 
space  of  twenty  rods  on  this  stream  but  is  an  eligible  and  efficient 
water-pow^er,  and  the  time  cannot  be  far  distant  when  the  practical 
manufacturer  and  mechanic  will  occupy  and  operate  it.  The  power 
already  appropriated  is  as  follows  :  Merrimack  Hosiery,  D.  H.  Rice, 
agent,  produces  some  twenty-five  hundred  dozen  pairs  per  month, 
taking  the  raw  material  and  turning  out  the  perfect  article. 

Crosby's  bedstead  manufactory  turns  out  some  two  hundred  bed- 
steads per  week,  which  are  sent  south  and  west,  many  finding  their 
way  to  the  distant  Pacific  shore,  —  California  and  Oregon  taking  a 
large  supply. 

White's  two  tanneries,  both  on  a  very  extensive  scale;  D.  P. 
Alexander  &  Co.'s  machine  shop,  which  turn&  out  a  considerable 
quantity  of  machinery  for  various  purposes;  Lovejoy  &  Dow's  car- 
riage manufactory,  where  all  kinds  of  vehicles  are  made,  from  the 
light  and  pleasant  sun-down  to  a  six-horse  stage-coach ;  Crawford  & 
Locke's  flouring  and  grist  mill,  with  a  capacity  of  three  hundred 
barrels  per  week,  besides  grinding  twenty  thousand  bushels  of  west- 
ern corn  per  annum  and  an  extensive  accommodation  business  of  a 
local  character.  All  who  have  the  good  fortune  to  patronize  this 
firm  gainsay  the  old  adage,  "  You  cannot  have  your  cake  and  eat  it 
too,"  and  their  patrons,  to  say  the  least,  are  extremely  well-bre(a)d. 

These  mills  are  operated  under  the  efficient  supervision  of  George 
T.  Crawford,  Esq.,  a  gentleman  whose  qualifications  and  business 
capabilities  are  demonstrated  by  the  gratifying  success  which  attends 


84  THE  MERRIMACK  BIVEE; 

the  transactions  of  the  firm;  nor  is  his  ability  exhausted  by  the 
business  of  which  he  has  the  managing  control.  His  information  is 
varied,  general,  and  extensive,  and  his  affability  and  explicit  way  of 
imparting  information  to  those  who  apply  to  him  is  pleasant  and  re- 
freshing. The  business  has  been  conducted  by  him  for  the  past  two 
years  on  the  tide  of  general  success,  and  this  firm  prides  itself  on 
supplying  the  New  Hampshire  market  with  the  first  new  flour  of  the 
season. 

Jordan's  planing-mill  and  job  works,  —  every  variety  of  building 
material  prepared  for  immediate  use ;  Musgrove's  wool-pulling, 
knit  and  flannel  under-garments  for  gentlemen's  wear ;  J.  C.  Dra- 
per &  Co.,  Plymouth  gloves,  one  of  the  most  extensive  and  flour- 
ishing establishments  of  the  kind  in  the  State ;  D.  Mason's  straw- 
board  mill,  which  finds  a  ready  market  in  Lynn  and  Haverhill ; 
Holden  &  Co.'s  fancy  flannel,  employing  some  forty  hands;  B.  F. 
Perkins,  straw-board  mills;  Dow  &  Co.,  coarse  woollens;  the  Lake 
Company's  extensive  lumber  works,  located  directly  at  the  foot  of 
the  lake,  owned  and  operated  by  the  large  companies  on  the  lower 
Merrimack. 

In  the  village  there  are  fourteen  stores,  two  hotels,  three  churches, 
—  Methodist,  Baptist,  and  Congregationalist.  The  facilities  for 
education,  as  in  most  other  enterprising  communities,  are  excellent. 
The  Union  school-house,  completed  in  18 07,  at  a  cost  of  twenty 
thousand  dollars,  is  a  fine  structure,  located  on  a  beautiful  eminence 
overlooking  the  entire  village.  It  is  a  graded  school,  and  accommo- 
dates the  pupils  in  the  district  comprising  the  village  proper. 

Bristol  is  the  natural  and  real  business  centre  for  the  surround- 
'ing  country,  including  the  towns  of  Hebron,  Groton,  Bridgewater, 
Alexandria,  Hill,  and  New  Hampton.  In  addition  to  the  immense 
water-power  of  the  Newfound,  a  small  portion  of  which  is  yet  devel- 
oped, the  Bristol  Falls,  in  the  Pemigewasset,  are  available  for  an 
immense  manufacturing  production.  Excepting  the  diminished  vol- 
ume of  water,  it  is  believed  the  capacity  is  not  inferior  to  some  of 
the  largest  places  on  the  river,  the  fall  being  sufficient  to  allow  of 
using  the  water  over,  and  the  facility  for  damming  very  convenient. 

Newfound  Lake  is  a  magnificent  sheet  of  water  to  look  upon,  but 
this  by  no  means  comprehends  its  value ;  indeed  it  is  the  smallest 
portion  of  its  great  merit.  It  is  nine  miles  in  extreme  length,  and 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  85 

about  three  in  average  breadth.  The  great  land  and  water  power  com- 
panies of  the  lower  Merrimack  control  this  power,  and,  as  in  the  case 
of  Winnipesaukee  and  Squam,  they  have  provided  artificial  means 
to  draw  this  extensive  reservoir  to  the  depth  of  six  feet  of  its  entire 
surface,  so  that  in  the  dryest  seasons  the  stream  affords  a  maximum 
supply  for  all  the  mills  and  shops  along  the  course  of  its  outlet. 

The  little  elegant  steamer  Pioneer,  Capt.  Geo.  W.  Dow,  plies  on 
the  lake,  affording  those  delightful  moonlight  and  daylight  excursions 
which  the  citizen  and  tourist  enjoy  so  highly.  The  new  and  spacious 
hotel  of  Mr.  0.  K.  Bucklin  is  a  marked  and  prominent  feature  of 
this  delightful  village.  It  stands  at  the  head  of  the  square ;  is  four 
stories  in  height,  and  has  all  the  modern  improvements  attainable  in 
this  section. 

The  village  is  romantically  located  in  a  basin,  surrounded  by  a 
nearly  circular  wall  of  very  high  hills,  whose  peaks,  some  ten  in  num- 
ber, rise  like  a  line  of  silent  sentinels  to  guard  and  protect  the  peace- 
ful community,  wfrose  neat  white  houses  resemble  pieces  of  frosted 
cake  in  a  huge  tureen. 

Newfound  River  tumbles  noisily  through  the  centre  of  the  towc 
repeatedly  leaping  many  feet  at  a  single  bound,  and  rushing  in 
foaming  cascades  and  rapid  current  with  headlong  speed  until  it  is 
lost  in  the  embrace  of  its  larger  brothe.r.  The  resplendent  Pemige- 
wasset,  washing  the  eastern  shore  of  the  village,  diversifies  the  scenery 
of  the  thrifty  and  quiet  town  of  Bristol  to  suit  the  tastes  of  all. 

Any  one  desiring  to  escape  the  heat,  dust,  and  confusion  of  the 
large  cities  will  find  this  village  accessible  by  the  Concord  and  Bristol 
Branch  Railroads,  the  latter  passing  through  a  country  affording 
some  of  the  most  superb  views.  Through  the  deep-green  luxuriant 
foliage,  the  traveller  constantly  catches  glimpses  of  the  sparkling 
waters  of  the  Merrimack,  with  the  long  high  range  of  heavily 
wooded  sombre  hills  behind,  while  the  broad,  fertile  intervals,  diver- 
sified by  fields  of  waving  grass  and  grain,  and  the  stately  spires  of 
extensive  and  luxuriant  cornfields,  afford  a  remarkably  picturesque 
and  charming  view,  diverting  the  unpleasant  tedium  of  the  usual 
railroad  experience,  and  making  Bristol  a  pleasant  excursion,  and 
Bucklin' s  Hotel  just  the  place  to  stop  at  on. arriving  there. 

A  new  and  important  enterprise  which  is  destined  to  ad<?  largely 
to  th$  population,  wealth,  and  consequence  of  this  town  i?  being 


86  THE  MEEEIMACK  EIVER; 

prosecuted  with  a  reasonable  prospect  of  a  successful  consummation. 
Reference  is  made  to  the  new  New  Hampshire  Central  Railroad.  Time 
is  money,  and  the  surest  method  of  saving  money  is  to  save  time,  and 
to  do  this  a  direct  line  is  the  most  rational  and  reasonable  course  to 
pursue.  In  order  to  accomplish  this .  desirable  result  it  has  been 
found  that  the  completion  of  a  link  in  the  great  chain  of  travel  from 
west  to  east  is  necessary,  from  Portland,  Me.,  to  Danbury,  N.  H., 
a  distance  of  ninety  miles,  —  a  short  break  in  the  continuous  chain 
through  the  State  of  Vermont  of  forty-six  miles.  When  this  is 
completed  the  distance  from  Portland  to  Chicago  will  be  only  one 
thousand  fifty-four  miles,  while  by  any  other  route  or  proposed  route 
it  is  one  thousand  one  hundred  and  forty-six  miles. 

This  route  secures  not  only  a  very  important  diminution  of  the 
distance,  but  must  certainly  prove  of  value  to  every  town  through 
which  it  passes,  as  well  as  other  towns  within  the  reach  of  its 
influence.  This  line  proposes  to  pass  directly  through  this  village, 
uniting  with  the  Bristol  branch,  and  effecting  a  junction  with  the 
Northern  at  Danbury,  nine  miles  west  of  Bristol,  giving  this  town 
the  benefit  of  the  local  and  through  business  alike. 

There  is  in  Bristol  a  flourishing  lodge  of  the  ancient  brother- 
hood of  the  mystic  tie.  Union  Lodge,  No.  79,  composed  of 
about  one  hundred  members,  good  men  and  true,  embracing  the 
leading  citizens  of  this  and  surrounding  towns ;  Moses  H.  Merrow, 
master. 

Smith's  River  is  the  northern  boundary  of  Hill,  separating  it  from 
Bristol  and  falling  into  the  Pemigewasset.  The  town  was  settled 
by  people  from  Chester,  Rockingham  County,  and  was  originally 
called  New  Chester.  It  received  its  present  name  in  1837.  Ragged 
Mountain,  whose  altitude  is  but  little  inferior  to  Kearsarge,  is  in  this 
town. 

The  Blackwater,  a  considerable  tributary  of  the  Contoocook,  runs 
through  the  town  parallel  with  the  Merrimack,  sometimes  not  more 
than  four  or  five  miles  from  it,  passing  through  several  towns  and 
falling  into  the  Contcocook  at  Hopkinton.  In  its  course  the  Black- 
water  passes  through  the  town  of  Andover,  where  repose  the  remains 
of  the  celebrated  magician  Potter.  This  man  was  one  of  the  first, 
as  he  certainly  was  one  of  the  most  famous,  of  the  practitioners  of  the 
black  art. 


ITS  SOURCE  /'.ID  ITS   TRIBUTARIES.  87 

Orange,  where  the  source  of  Smith's  River  is  located,  is  a  small, 
poor  town,  limited  in  its  agricultural  capacity,  but  remarkable 
for  the  variety  of  its  mineral  productions,  —  iron  and  lead,  yellow 
ochre  in  large  quantities,  superior  in  quality  to  the  imported  article, 
a  conglomerate  of  chalk  and  magnesia,  and  from  a  pond  is  taken  a 
mineral  paint  resembling  a  spruce  yellow. 

On  the  height  of  land  which  sheds  its  waters  into  the  Merrhnack 
on  the  east,  and  the  Connecticut  on  the  west,  are  a  number  of  deep, 
circular  holes  worn  in  the  solid  rock,  the  largest  of  which,  from  its 
great  depth  and  regularity  of  form,  is  called  the  "well."  It  is  eleven 
feet  in  its  perpendicular  depth,  and  the  stones  found  in  it  were 
rounded,  smooth,  and  polished,  indicating  a  powerful  and  long-con- 
tinued action  of  water.  The  position  of  these  wells  is  one  thou- 
sand feet  above  the  waters  of  the  Merrimack  and  Connecticut ; 
the  rock  is  very  hard,  and  in  many  places  on  its  surface  occur 
the  marks  and  scars  and  scratches  spoken  of  as  evidence  of  the 
ancient  drift  epoch  in  the  existence,  or  before  the  existence,  of  this 
continent. 

Smith's  River  has  its  source  near  what  is  called  Poverty  Ridge,  a 
ridge  of  sterile  territory,  extending  north  and  south  nearly  the  whole 
extent  of  Grafton  County,  being  the  water-shed  between  the  Connect- 
icut and  upper  waters  of  the  Merrimack. 

Salisbury  is  a  very  ancient  town.  It  was  originally  granted  by 
Massachusetts,  and  was  called  Bakerstown.  It  was  regranted  after- 
wards by  the  Masonian  proprietors,  and  was  known  by  the  name  of 
Stevenstown,  —  this  was  in  1749.  It  was  incorporated  in  176-8  by 
New  Hampshire  under  its  present  name.  Until  the  formation  of  the 
town  of  Franklin  in  1828  it  extended  eastward  to  the  Merrimack, 
aad  its  area  was  large. 

In  1819,  a  huge  mass  of  earth  and  rocks  of  many  thousand  tons 
weight,  became  detached  from  the  southern  declivity  of  Bald  Hill,  and 
was  precipitated  with  overwhelming  force  into  the  valley  below, 
bearing  down  every  obstacle  in  its  resistless  career  for  a  distance  of 
nearly  fifty  rods,  and  four  to  five  in  breadth. 

The  Indians  in  their  predatory  incursions  paid  especial  attention 
to  this  town ;  the  early  settlers  suffering  severely  from  their  depre- 
dations and  cruelty.  In  May,  1753,  Nathaniel  Maloon,  his  wife, 
and  three  children  were  captured  and  taken  to  Montreal,  where 


88  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER  ; 

himself  and  wife  were  sold,  the  children  being  retained  among  the 
Indians ;  one  of  them  made  his  way*  home,  arriving  after  an  absence 
of  nine  years.  In  August  of  the  same  year,  Mrs.  Call  was  killed, 
and  two  men  named  Barber  and  Scribner  made  captives  and  taken  to 
Canada. 

Salisbury  was  settled  in  the  year  1750  by  John  and  Ebenezer 
Webster,  and  others.  Ebenezer  Webster,  one  of  the  earliest  settlers. 
was  an  ardent  patriot  of  the  Revolution,  and  held  many  offices  of honor 
and  trust,  but  was  most  distinguished  as  being  the  father  of  Daniel 
Webster,  —  a  name  to  which  any  title  is  unbecoming  and  superfluous ; 
a  familiar  and  honored  name ;  in  a  long  line  of  illustrious  sons  the 
noblest  Roman,  the  most  majestic,  the  greatest  genius  of  them  all. 
Daniel  Webster  was  born  in  Salisbury,  New  Hampshire,  1782.  Here 
he  first  breathed  the  atmosphere,  and  rested  his  eyes  on  the  beautiful 
in  nature  spread  out  around  his  birthplace  like  a  broad  and  magnificent 
panorama,  embracing  every  variety  of  scenery,  from  the  frowning 
mountain  to  the  bright  rolling  river.  Here  he  received  his  first  im- 
pressions, his  early  training,  and  laid  the  foundation,  broad  and  deep,  of 
that  magnificent  and  comprehensive  intellect  which  made  him  in  his 
time  the  peerless  Webster.  Reared  in  the  midst  of  natural  scenes  like 
these,  it  may  not  be  surprising  that  his  youth  was  somewhat  imagi- 
native and  poetical,  nor  is  it  more  a  wonder  that  his  first  efforts 
developed  a  mind  at  once  compact  and  masculine.  He  started  into 
manhood  with  an  intellect,  broad,  fertile,  and  productive.  Irrigated 
by  a  steady,  pure,  genuine  patriotism,  his  great  mind  grasped  his 
whole  country,  and  his  anxiety  for  the  perpetuity  of  her  institutions 
and  his  race  was  his  noblest  emotion.  He  despised  fanatics  with  all 
the  ardor  of  a  generous  mind,  while  he  profoundly  pitied  them,  and 
from  whatever  quarter  they  came  he  never  lost  an  opportunity  to 
give  them  a  scathing  and  wholesome  rebuke. 

He  graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  in  the  class  of  1801,  and 
commenced  at  once  .the  practice  of  law.  In  1812,  though  only 
thirty  years  of  age,  and  as  yet  unknown  to  fame,  he  was  elected  to 
Congress,  and  there  stood  among  the  foremost  in  ability  and  in 
opposition  to  the  war  and  the  administration.  He  held  all  the  high 
offices  in  the  government,  except  the  presidency,  and  most  distin- 
guished himself  in  the  highest  and  most  responsible. 

That  his  political  views  did  not  obtain  in  the  country  is  no  evidence 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  89 

against  his  transcendent  genius ;  on  the  contrary,  the  most  dogmatical 
of  his  opponents  were  amazed  at  the  consummate  ability  with  which 
he  sustained  and  urged  what  they  considered  a  poor  cause,  declaring 
that  if  his  cause  was  just,  and  he  was  thereby  thrice  armed,  he 
would  be  invincible  to  any  force  of  numbers  or  talent  that  should 
oppose  him. 

Unlike  Hamilton  in  many  respects,  he  was,  as  Jefferson  said 
of  Hamilton,  a  host  in  himself,  and  with  a  party  or  without,  he  was 
formidable,  and  it  required  the  utmost  circumspection  of  his  opponents 
to  guard  the  vulnerable  points  of  their  theory  and  practice  against 
his  masterly  assaults.  Whatever  might  be  thought  or  said  of  his 
politics,  the  purity  and  fervency  of  his  patriotism  was  never 
questioned;  he  proved  his  love  of  country  by  devoting  nearly  the 
entire  period  of  his  maturity  and  unsurpassed  ability  to  her  cause 
and  her  welfare.  Like  a  pure  fountain  of  sweet  waters,  his  love  of 
country,  not  in  shallow,  transparent,  flimsy  mouth  ings,  was  generous, 
and  all  men,  whatever  their  persuasion  or  policy,  could  imbibe  freely 
at  this  unfailing  and  refreshing  spring,  with  profit  to  themselves 
and  advantage  tO(  the  State.  Among  the  many  lessons  learned 
here  from  Nature's  book  he  learned  to  be  a  disciple  of  Izaak 
Walton,  —  an  exciting,  healthful,  and  rational  recreation,  under 
the  proper  restrictions  of  reasonable  times  and  seasons,  —  and 
Daniel  Webster  the  angler,  if  not  as  famous  and  historical,  is  as 
familiar  and  interesting  as  Daniel  Webster  the  foremost  states- 
man of  the  age.  »It  was  in  the  midst  of  one  of  these  favorite 
expeditions  that  he  wrote  the  celebrated  Hulsemann  Letter,  which 
may  be  regarded  as  the  keystone  in  the  triumphal  arch  of  his 
diplomatic  fame. 

His  lofty  genius  towered  up  like  Kearsarge,  under  whose  shadows 
he  sported  in  childhood,  conspicuous  among  his  fellows,  and,  like  this 
firm,  immovable  mountain,  his  head  was  bared  to  the  pitiless,  un- 
reasoning, and  incongruous  elements ;  and,  although  Daniel  Webster 
the  mortal  has  passed  away,  he  "still  lives"  in  the  brightest  pages 
of  his  country's  history,  and  in  the  affection  of  an  enlightened  peo- 
ple, and  Kearsarge  shall,  by  some  fearful  convulsion,-  fall  sooner 
than  the  memory  and  fame  of  Paniel  Webster ! 

He  died  Oct.  22d,  1852 ;  and,  as  ten  thousand  bells  pealed  sol- 
emnly the  knell  of  his  departure,  a  nation  bowed  in  grief  at  the 
12 


90  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

t 

portals  of  his  tomb.  Venerated  he  still  lives  in  the  example  he  has 
furnished,  and  is  commemorated  by  the  proudest  monument  yet 
reared  to  mortal,  —  the  high  esteem  and  deep  affection  of  an  intelli- 
gent and  enlightened  people. 

"After  a  warm  contest  the  Federal  tickets  for  electors  of  Presi- 
dent and  members  of  Congress  were  elected  by  an  average  majority 
<sf  not  far  from  fifteen  hundred  votes. 

' '  Daniel  Webster  was  one  of  the  congressional  delegation  at  this 
*ime  chosen ;  a  man  who,  though  then  young,  soon  ranked  among 
the  ablest  opponents  of  the  administration  and  the  war,  and  gained 
that  high  reputation  as  a  cool,  powerful,  and  eloquent  debater  which 
he  has  maintained  during  a  service  of  twenty-five  years,  in  one 
branch  or  other  of  the  American  Congress.  Thirty  years  before  this 
time  he  was  born  by  the  side  of  the  Merrimack,  —  the  son  of  a 
farmer.  At  school  and  in  college  he  sometimes  composed  poetry, 
and  displayed  in  his  prose  compositions  a  gorgeous  fancy ;  but  his  first 
efforts  at  the  bar  were  marked  by  a  close,  vigorous,  and  mature  style, 
which  indicated  a  preponderance  of  the  reasoning  powers  over  the 
imagination,  and  determined  his  character  as  a  powerful  logician, 
kindling  but  occasionally  with  the  fires,  of  imagination.  He  rose 
with  a  rapid  flight,  dazzling  and  astonishing,  convincing  and  con- 
quering. 

"  The  bar  acknowledged  him  as  its  head ;  the  rival  leaders  of 
his  own  party  made  way  for  him  in  the  race  for  distinction,  and  he 
was  ushered  forward  at  once  to  the  first  stations  of  responsibility  and 
honor  which  they  had  in  their  power  to  bestow.  Most  of  his  mature 
years  have  been  passed  in  the  halls  of  legislation.  He  has  discussed, 
either  for  the  purpose  of  opposition  or  support,  most  of  the  important 
measures  of  government ;  and  though  his  views  have  often  failed  to 
go  in  the  popular  support,  and  the  correctness  of  them  has  been 
questioned  by  the  ablest  minds  in  the  nation,  yet  he  has  left  im- 
pressed on  the  memory  of  many,  and  stamped  upon  the  records  of 
public  affairs,  so  many  of  those  touches  of  genius,  which  in  an  age 
of  intelligence  will  be  preserved  from  oblivion,  that  the  name  of 
Webster,  though  he  be  consigned  to  the  grave,  cannot  fall  into  for- 
getfulness."  * 

Kearsarge   Mountain,   a  corner-bound  of  this  town  as   well  as 

*  Barstow. 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS   TRIBUTARIES.  91 

many  others  by  which  it  is  surrounded,  stands  prominent.  As  if 
too  great  a  prize  for  one  alone,  it  is  divided  among  the  following 
towns,  namely :  Andover,  Boscawen,  New  London,  Salisbury,  Sut- 
ton,  Warner,  and  Wilmot. 

The  geological  composition  of  Kearsarge  is  said  to  be  principally 
mica  slate,  and  is  scarred  and  seamed  by  deep  furrows,  and  much 
striated,  as  geologists  affirm,  by  the  drift,  gneiss,  and  mica  slate,  com- 
bined with  talc  or  isinglass,  and  limestone.  Pyrope,  regarded  as 
one  of  the  varieties  of  garnets,  is  found  in  the  gneiss;  and  in  Warner 
is  a  valuable  talcose,  or  soapstone,  quarry.  Not  only  Kearsarge 
Mountain,  but,  indeed,  all  the  other  mountains  and  hills,  and  num- 
berless other  localities  throughout  the  State,  are  rich  in  the  variety 
and  value  of  mineral  products. 

Whether  the  dream  of  the  earliest  settlers  will  ever  be  realized  in 
the  discovery  of  a  New  Hampshire  El  Dorado  or  not,  time  and  the 
development  of  the,  as  yet,  undiscovered  and  unknown  resources  of 
the  State  alone  can  determine ;  and  it  is  believed  that  a  judicious 
appropriation  of  a  small  amount  for  this  purpose  would  in  nowise 
affect  injuriously  the  prosperity  of  the  State,  and  might  result  in 
untold  benefit.  While  the  plough  is  the  "mud-sill"  of  the  super- 
structure of  prosperity  and  wealth,  the  pick,  smelting-furnace,  and 
crucible  are  joists  which  give  the  edifice  convenience,  strength,  and 
beauty. 

"Kearsarge  is  sui  generis.  We  never  lost  a  good  chance  to  climb 
a  mountain,  but  never  saw  one  like  this.  Its  rounded  top,  embracing 
hundreds  of  acres,  is  a  polished,  undulating  ledge.  Some  of  these 
undulations  are  abrupt,  forming,  as  it  were,  separate  peaks,  and,  if 
the  reader  will  pardon  a  slight  exaggeration  for  the  sake  of  a  general 
truth,  we  may  say  there  is  hardly  vegetation  enough  to  support  a 
squirrel,  or  loose  rocks  enough  to  drive  him  away.  There  are  said 
to  be  indubitable  evidences,  based  on  facts  and  analogies,  that  the  for- 
mation of  this  mountain-top  is  volcanic,  —  that  great  waves  of  lava 
have  been  thrown  out  at  successive  periods  to  cool  in  strata,  and  that 
this  accounts  for  the  wonderful  regularity  of  the  formation.  There 
are  also  many  well-defined  depressions  in  the  ledge,  all  running  in 
the  same  direction,  which  geologists  affirm  were  produced  by  drift- 
ing glaciers  from  the  Arctic  regions,  bearing  boulders,  perhaps,  in 


92  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

their  icy  grasp,  in  the  time  long  agone.  when  all  this  region  was 
the  bottom  of  the  sea.  The  crater  of  the  old  volcano  is  pointed 
out. 

"  Right  here  in  the  middle  of  the  State,  overlooking  one-half  of 
its  territory  and  three-fourths  of  its  people,  with  nothing  to  obstruct 
the  vision,  'swinging  round  the  circle,'  stands  Kearsarge.  The  view 
lacks  the  grandeur  of  some  others,  but  the  world  can  scarcely  pro- 
duce one  more  beautiful.  With  a  favorable  atmosphere,  nearly  all 
the  mountains  in  this  State  and  Vermont  may  be  distinctly  seen. 
As  it  was,  there  were  Ossipee,  Chocorua,  Carrigan,  Whiteface,  La- 
fayette, Moosilauke,  Cardigan,  Ascutney,  the  Green  Mountain  range, 
Monadnock,  Uncanoonucs,  and  Wilson's  Hill.  Of  lakes,  we  have 
Winnipesaukee,  Newfound,  Sunapee,  and  about  thirty  large  ponds 
in  the  neighboring  towns.  Of  villages,  we  have  three  or  four  in 
Andover,  two  in  Wilmot,  as  many  in  New  London,  Sutton,  Warner, 
and  Salisbury,  one  in  Henniker,  Webster,  and  Boscawen,  and  two  or 
three  in  Canterbury,  Sanbornton,  etc.  The  agricultural  aspect  is 
charming.  We  did  not  know  our  State  was  so  attractive.  Andover 
was  too  near  to  seem  quite  a  prairie,  but  Wilmot,  New  London,  and 
Sutton,  on  the  north  and  west,  and  the  other  towns  we  have  named, 
on  the  south  and  east,  appeared  nearly  level;  and  the  traveller  will 
wonder  where  the  hills  are  that  he  encountered  in  going  to  Kear- 
sarge. Each  public  and  private  building  in  that  populous  section  of 
our  State  stands  out  in  bold  relief;  and  the  whole  region,  with  its 
asperities  softened  by  distance,  seems  a  succession  of  beautiful  and 
productive  farms."  * 

The  seasons  as  they  roll  afford,  in  turn,  peculiar  charms.  Win- 
ter, with  its  wild  and  threatening  aspect  of  clouds  and  frosty  atmos- 
phere, so  sharp  and  penetrating  that  the  trees  and  rocks  are  rent  with 
terrific  sound ;  under  the  shelter  and  protection  of  a  hospitable  roof, 
surrounded  by  congenial  friends,  and  a  generous  warmth,  it  gives  a 
sense  of  added  comfort  to  scratch  the  thickly  frosted  panes  and  look 
out  upon  the  fierce,  wild  storm ;  to  hear  the  winds  roar  dismally  and 
cheerlessly ;  to  see  the  snow  whirled  by  a  frenzy  of  fury  over  all  the 
land ;  to  look  across  the  broad  and  dreary  waste  of  desolation,  and 
feel  secure. 

In  summer,  when  the  concentrated  heat  wilts  down  the  robust 

*  J.  M.  Campbell. 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  93 

frame ;  when  the  very  sweat  of  nature  is  evaporated  from  the  oozy 
pores,  and  leaves  her  products  seasoned ;  when  the  loud  thunders, 
peal  on  peal,  crash  heavily,  and  bellow  along  the  cliffs,  and  light- 
ning darts  in  fiery  forks  and  chains  along  the  sky,  and  clouds  roll 
in  heavy,  dark  masses,  like  trooping  fiends,  so  angry,  fierce,  and 
threatening  ;  or  the  bright  sun,  rolling  in  unclouded  splendor,  —  a 
scene  like  this  is  beautifully  grand,  but  nothing  can  excel  the 
gorgeous  loveliness  of  an  autumnal  landscape  view. 

From  the  elevated  summit  of  Kearsarge,  when  those  two  match- 
less artists,  Autumn  and  Frost,  have  passed  that  way,  and  touched 
the  foliage  with  their  magic  brush  and  incomparably  magnificent 
coloring,  the  view  cannot  be  excelled  throughout  the  universe. 
Nothing  intervenes  on  either  side  to  obstruct  the  range  of  vision 
to  the  utmost  limit  of  its  power.  Mountain,  valley,  hill,  and  dale, 
all  robed  in  scarlet,  purple,  and  gold,  while  a  flood  of  mellow  sun- 
light, pouring  upon  the  scene,  illuminates  the  forests  with  all  the 
hues  and  shades  of  the  rainbow,  delighting  the  eye  —  never  sa- 
tiated or  tiring  —  with  the  magnificent  spectacle  of  a  more  than 
fairy  land. 

Creeping  unobtrusively  and  unobserved  through  the  valleys,  up 
along  each  acclivity,  through  the  great  forests,  and  over  the  hill- 
tops, the  unequalled  painters  have  touched  the  brush  to  the  trailing 
vine  as  well  as  shrub  and  bush  and  giant  trees;  nothing  escapes 
their  attention,  and  now,  where  everything  was  but  yesterday  so  uni- 
formly green,  crimson  and  gold  and  all  the  intervening  tints  adorn 
the  landscape.  Looking  to  the  eastward,  this  brilliant  scene  of  beauty 
is  diversified  and  enhanced  by  the  broad  Merrimack  meandering  gently 
through  the  wide  green  valley  far  below,  like  a  glistening  baldric, 
while  nature  everywhere  seems  dressed  in  her  liveliest  and  loveliest 
habiliments,  and  in  the  midst  of  all  this  lavish  display  of  splendid 
variegation  of  adornment  stands  the  unchanging  perennial,  superbly 
ornamental  in  its  sombre  panoply  by  contrast  with  its  gaudy  sur- 
roundings. Sublime  and  enchanting  as  an  autumnal  scene  like  thjs 
cannot  fail  to  be,  it  is  strange  so  many  greet  this  season  sorrow- 
fully, indulging  in  mitigated  lamentations,  and  discoursing  solemnly 
of  the  "  sear  and  yellow  leaf"  and  "  gloomy  days  "  which  "chill 
the  spirits  and  turn  the  heart  to  loneliness  and  sadness."  Not- 
withstanding poets,  orators,  and  scholars  almost  invariably  affect 


94  THE  MERRIMACK  BIVER;    > 

this  emotion,  there  are  those  who  fail  to  receive  similar  impressions, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  witness  the  advent  of  this  season  with  the 
liveliest  emotions  of  joy  and  pleasure. 

As  the  time  approaches  for  the  termination  of  the  brief  period 
of  nature's  life,  and  the  whole  earth  seems  an  interminable  para- 
dise of  beauty  in  its  gaudy  attire,  it  not  inaptly  symbolizes  the 
transition  of  the  genuine  Christian,  the  good  man,  the  true  man  of 
God.  VvThcn  his  time  of  dissolution  comes,  he  is,  instead  of  being 
overwhelmed  with  sorrow,  fear,  and  remorse,  cheerful,  buoyant,  and 
happy.  He  grieves  not  to  depart.  The  good  deeds  of  his  life  illu- 
minate the  dark  valley,  and  shed  a  halo  around  him,  which,  like 
autumn  leaves,  robes  him  in  brighter  raiment  as  he  falls  into  the 
tomb. 

As  if  rejoicing  at  the  maturity  and  perfection  of  its  beneficence, 
having  budded,  bloomed,  and  ripened  to  the  glory  of  God  and  the 
good  of  mankind,  the  grand  old  tree  appears  in  its  most  attractive 
attire  at  the  very  moment  of  dissolution.  So  it  is  with  the 
spirit  of  the  just ;  glowing  with  sublime  effulgence  in  the  conscious- 
ness of  duty  done,  and  faith  in  the  promise,  and  grateful  for  the 
prospect  of  immediate  and  full  fruition,  the  beautiful  panoply  of  joy 
and  peace  and  righteousness  adorns  the  closing  scene.  Nor  is  this 
the  complete  similitude.  The  boundless  wealth  of  coloring,  which 
is  one  of  the  crowning  glories  of  the  life  and  death  of  nature,  points, 
unerringly,  to  another  life,  a  renewed  existence,  an  opening  spring- 
time, where  they  shall  bud  and  bloom  again  in  pristine  beauty  and 
glory. 

Thus  the  tried  and  true  spirit,  undoubting  and  undismayed, 
views,  with  the  ecstasy  of  a  hitherto  unfamiliar  joy,  the  sign  of  the 
reopening  of  an  unfading  spring  of  perennial  bloom,  when  rebud- 
ding  on  the  Tree  of  Everlasting  Life,  nevermore  to  know  the  "sear 
and  yellow  leaf,"  or  the  "gloomy  days,"  unchanging  in  the  pure 
raiment  of  unfading  glory,  proclaims  through  an  eternity  of  bliss 
the  matchless  charm  of  autumn  leaves  ! 

Boscawen  lies  on  the  west  side  of  the  Merrimack  River,  which  is 
its  eastern  boundary.  It  is  a  very  handsome  and  interesting  town, 
its  principal  village  being  a  broad  avenue,  about  two  miles  in  extent, 
ornamented  with  fine  old  trees,  which  give  a  picturesque  and  pleas- 
ant air  to  the  place,  and  afford  a  welcome  shade  in  the  heat  of  the 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TEIBUTARIES.  95 

summer  months.  The  Blackwater,  a  tributary  of  the  Contoocook, 
has  its  course  entirely  through  this  town,  parallel  with,  and  about 
four  miles  from  the  Merrimack,  and,  having  falls,  it  aifords  many 
mill  privileges,  which  are  well  improved.  The  original  settlers 
erected  a  log  fort,  one  hundred  feet  square  and  ten  or  twelve  feet 
high,  to  protect  themselves  against  the  savages,  and  for  more  than 
twenty  years  this  afforded  them  their  only  protection. 

.In  1746,  Thomas  Cook,  a  negro,  was  killed  by  the  Indians,  and 
a  man  named  Jones  was  carried  to  Canada,  and  there  died.  In 
the  year  1754,  Nathaniel  Maloon,  and  his  entire  family,  consisting 
of  his  wife  and  five  children,  were  taken  captives,  and  carried  to 
Canada,  where  they  were  held  in  servitude  nearly  four  years.  In 
1756,  Edward  Emery  and  Ezekiel  Flanders  were  killed  while  on 
a  hunting  expedition,  and  there  was  no  safety  or  security  anywhere 
except  under  the  immediate  protection  of  an  armed  guard. 

The  first  bridge  over  the  Merrimack,  below  the  forks,  in  Frank- 
lin, spans  the  river  on  the  highway  from  Boscawen  to  Canterbury. 
At  the  confluence  of  the  Contoocook  with  the  Merrimack,  which 
occurs  near  the  southern  boundary  of  the  town,  there  is  an  island 
belonging  to  Boscawen  which  will  remain  forever  famous  for  the 
heroic  daring  of  a  brave  and  determined  woman.  The  terrible 
tragedy  which  was  enacted  on  this  island  one  hundred  and  seventy 
years  ago,  is  unparalleled  by  the  creation  of  the  most  fertile  imag- 
ination, and  will  live  in  the  annals  of  New  England  as  long  as 
heroism  shall  continue  to  be  a  virtue. 

On  the  fifteenth  of  March,  1698,  Mrs.  Dustin,  her  infant,  a  week 
old,  and  Mary  Neff,  her  nurse,  were  taken  captive  by  a  party  of 
Indians,  at  Haverhill,  Mass.  Mrs.  Dustin  was  driven  from  her  bed, 
and  compelled  to  accompany  her  savage  captors.  After  they  had 
proceeded  a  short  distance,  the  child  becoming  a  worthless  burden 
to  them,  one  of  the  number  put  a  period  to  the  troubles  and  suffer- 
ings of  the  innocent  by  dashing  its  brains  out  against  a  convenient 
tree.  Proceeding  up  the  Merrimack  with  the  nurse  and  the  mother, 
sick,  exhausted,  and  overwhelmed  with  anguish  at  the  sight  of  this 
shocking  cruelty,  the  party  encamped  on  this  island,  which  is  known 
as  Dustin  Island.  The  landing  here  was  designed  only  as  a  tem- 
porary rest  for  the  savages,  who  intended  to  continue  their  journey 
up  the  river  to  an  Indian  settlement,  where  they  proposed,  for  the 


96  THE  MEERIMACK  RIVER; 

amusement  of  themselves  and  confusion  of  the  prisoners,  that  they 
should  perform  the  ceremony  of  running  the  gauntlet. 

Aware  of  the  cruelties  practised  upon  their  victims,  Mrs.  Dustin, 
in  her  desperation,  formed  a  determination  to  exterminate,  if  pos- 
sible, the  savages,  and  liberate  herself  and  fellow-prisoners.  Her 
companions,  the  nurse,  and  a  lad,  Samuel  Leonardson,  who  had 
been  previously  captured  by  the  same  party  near  Worcester,  were 
informed  of  her  intentions,  and .  instructed,  as  well  as  possible, 
in  the  details  of  the  enterprise.  The  Indians,  worn  down  with 
fatigue  by  their  long  and  rapid  retreat  up  the  river,  after  re- 
freshing themselves,  sank  on  the  ground,  and  soon  fell  into  a  pro- 
found slumber.  Now  was  the  favorable  opportunity,  and  the  heroic 
woman,  undaunted  by  the  strength,  skill,  agility,  and  numerical 
superiority  of  her  captors,  proceeded  to  execute  her  daring  scheme. 
By  the  aid  of  the  nurse  and  lad,  and  the  murderous  implements  of 
the  savages,  she  despatched  ten  of  them.  A  woman  of  the  party 
escaped,  and  a  boy  was  purposely  left  unharmed.  Scalping  the 
slain,  and  freighting  one  of  their  best  canoes  with  a  few  supplies, 
arms,  etc.,  this  weak  but  resolute  party  headed  their  frail  bark 
down  the  Merrimack  towards  home,  and  arrived  safely  in  Haverhill 
to  the  infinite  surprise  and  indescribable  joy  of  their  friends. 

The  self-sacrificing  devotion  of  Mary  Neff,  in  her  determination 
to  remain  with  her  mistress  and  share  her  dangers,  rather  than  to 
escape,  which  she  could  have  easily  done,  thus  leaving  Mrs.  Dustin 
alone  to  her  fate,  appears  not  only  to  have  been  providential,  —  as 
the  terrible  tragedy  could  not  have  been  successfully  enacted 
without  her  assistance,  —  but  is  worthy  of  the  highest  commen- 
dation. 

In  the  year  1828  a  portion  of  each  of  the  towns  of  Andover,  Salis- 
bury, Northfield,  and  Sanbornton  was  taken  and  erected  into  a 
separate  town  called  Franklin,  which  has,  during  its  comparatively 
brief  existence,  exhibited  considerable  enterprise,  and  is  a  flourishing 
and  progressive  community. 

For  several  years  past,  as  well  as  at  present,  Franklin  has  advanced 
in  population  and  resources.  A  variety  of  mechanical  works,  hosiery- 
mills,  etc.,  are  in  operation.  Aiken's  famous  knitting-machine  was 
invented  and  manufactured  here,  and  has  been  a  source  of  wealth  to 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS   TRIBUTARIES.  97 

the  inventor,  as  well  as  a  great  labor-saving  machine  and  improve- 
ment in  the  manufacture  of  knit  over  and  under  garments. 

Franklin  is  the  terminus  of  the  Bristol  Branch  Railroad.  The 
Northern  Railroad  —  Concord  to  White  River  Junction  —  passes 
through  the  town,  and,  as  the  road  is  above  the  roofs  of  many  of 
the  houses,  the  attention  of  the  passenger  is  arrested  in  passing 
through  it,  and  in  those  who  are  constitutionally  timid  a  slight  ner- 
vousness is  liable  to  be  superinduced. 

Arriving  at  the  forks  of  the  Merrimack,  the  topography  and  con- 
dition of  the  country  present  so  marked  a  difference  from  that  at  its 
source  as  to  at  once  arrest  attention.  Broad  intervals  and  gently 
undulating  uplands  in  a  high  state  of  cultivation,  in  richest  ver- 
dure clad,  betoken  an  excellent  soil  and  a  thrifty  and  industrious 
farming  community.  Thus  pleasantly  located  is  the  enterprising 
village  of  Franklin,  about  one-fourth  of  a  mile  from  the  forks  of  the 
Merrimack. 

Here  at  the  forks ,  the  bony  shad  and  the  sinewy  salmon,  in  the 
palmy  days t of  the  migratory  tribes,  parted  company;  the  former 
taking  the  dark,  tepid  waters  of  the  lake,  the  latter  the  cool,  bright 
current  of  the  Pemigewasset,  whose  countless  cascades  and  cataracts, 
and  rumbling,  tumbling,  foaming  falls  afforded  this  unequalled  fish 
the  element  he  preferred,  and  the  exercise  in  which  he  so  much  de- 
lighted. Pitting  his  great  strength  and  agility  against  the  resisting 
power  of  the  rapid  current,  he  headed  towards  its  source  among  the 
mountains,  where,  like  other  sensible  beings,  in  the  secluded  retreat 
of  the  pure,  cold  pools,  darkened  by  the  shadows  of  the  great  sur- 
rounding mountains  and  forests,  he  passed  the  dog-star  period  in 
security,  comfort,  and  repose.  Shooting  with  the  velocity  of  an 
arrow  across  the  boiling,  turbulent  waters  of  the  falls,  he  regained 
his 'summer  residence  from  year  to  year,  until  shut  out  from  the 
land  or  water  of  his  nativity  by  the  impassable  barrier  at  Law- 
rence. 

13 


98  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 


CHAPTER     IV. 

The  Forks.  —  Winnipesankeo  Lake  and  River.  —  Pickerel  Fishing.  —  The  Wiers.  —  La- 
conia.  —  Capt.  Lovewell.  —  Centre  Harbor.  —  Moultonborough.  —  Red  Hill.  —  Sand- 
wich. 

HAVING  arrived  at  the  forks  of  the  Merrimack  in  Franklin, 
namely,  the  Pemigewasset  and  the  Winnipesaukee,  it  will  be  proper 
to  turn  attention  to  the  -latter  stream  and  its  great  reservoir.  It  is 
at  the  confluence  of  these  two  streams  that  the  Merrimack  takes  its 
name,  —  a  name,  whenever  and  wherever  heard,  suggestive  of  bright 
waters,  industrious,  prosperous,  and  happy  communities,  great  fac- 
tories filled  with  intricate  and  delicate  machinery,  and  bright  eyes 
and  nimble  and  cunning  hands  to  guide  its  movements. 

Lake  Winnipesaukee,  the  source  of  the  river  of  the  same  name, 
is  a  large  and  magnificent  sheet  of  water.  It  may  be  regarded  as 
the  grand  central  plateau  of  New  Hampshire  waters.  The  name  is 
of  Indian  derivation,  and  has  not  unfrequently  been  erroneously 
interpreted  as  signifying  "The  Smile  of  the  Great. Spirit. "  This, 
however,  is  incorrect;  it  being  rendered  literally  signifies  the  "beau- 
tiful water  of  the  high  place."  The  lake  is  something  more  than 
twenty  miles  in  length,  and  affords  a  scene  of  unsurpassed  loveliness. 
Bike  the  glimmer  glass  of  Cooper  it  spreads  away  like  a  liquid  sheet 
of  burnished  silver  in  the  bright  sunlight,  and  forests  rising  high 
along  its  emerald  banks  mirror  and  reproduce  themselves  deep  in  its 
placid  bosom.  A  calm  serenity  sits  enthroned  upon  its  polished 
surface,  except  when  moderate  breezes  stir  it  into  dancing  ripples,  or 
strong  gales  move  it  to  gentle  undulations. 

This  lake  has  many  notable  features.  It  is  reputed  to  contain, 
like  other  famous  waters,  the  inevitable  three  hundred  and  sixty-five 
islands.  Whether  this  is  so  or  not,  the  islands  are  numerous.  On 
some  of  them  are  many  farms  of  excellent  and  unusually  productive 
land ;  others  are  used  solely  for  pasturing,  and  herds  of  cattle  and 
large  numbers  of  sheep  here  find  a  splendid  summer  resort,  securely 


ITS  SOUECE  AND  ITS  TEIBUTARIES.  99 

enclosed,  no  trouble  to  the  owner  or  his  neighbor,  and  at  the  same 
time  entirely  self-sustaining ;  others  are  used  solely  for  the  gather- 
ing of  picnic  and  excursion  parties  which  resort  here  from  long  dis- 
tances as  well  as  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  lake ;  and 
public-spirited  or  speculating  individuals  have  erected  permanent 
buildings,  furnished  with  all  the  modern  conveniences  for  innocent 
recreation  for  old  and  young,  for  religious  societies  as  well  as  for 
the  world's  people;  and  here,  throughout  the  summer  season,  crowds 
disembark  from  the  steamers  daily  almost,  having  fled  from  the  swel- 
tering brick  walls  of  pent-up  cities,  armed  with  all  the  needed  sup- 
plies and  luxuries  to  enjoy  a  holiday  of  social  and  rational  pleasure, 
to  indulge  in  the  exciting  and  exhilarating  sport  of  fishing  and  other 
amusements,  and  to  drink  of  the  waters  of  the  translucent  fountains, 
cool  and  refreshing  from  the  mountains. 

There  are,  also,  many  islands  in  this  magnificent  lake,  luxuriant  in 
majestic  forest-trees,  wild  in  matted  and  tangled  undergrowth,  like 
monster  emeralds  in  a  silver  setting,  or  like  an  Oriental  picture, 
the  permanent  haunt  of  the  rattlesnake,  and  the  temporary  resort  of 
the  strong-lunged  loon  and  other  aquatic  fowl.  Considering  the 
great  size  of  this  lake,  its  water-shed  is  extremely  limited,  so  much 
so,  that  it  is  a  great  wonder  how  it  maintains  as  steadily  as  it  does 
its  maximum  depth.  The  topography  of  the  surrounding  territory 
would  appear  to  the  view  well  adapted  to  supply  the  feeders  of  this 
gr"eat  body  of  water,  but  no  stream  of  any  magnitude  finds  its  way 
into  it.  A  narrow  strip  of  territory  skirting  the  lake  shore  sup- 
plies the  usual  small  brooks,  and  these  comprise  the  sum-total  of  its 
affluents.  The  extensive  country  stretching  away  to  the  north  some 
twenty  or  thirty  miles  to  the  Sandwich  Mountains,  whose  inclina- 
tion is  to  the  southward,  including  the  country  some  distance  to  the 
east  and  west,  would  seem  to  be  the  natural  supply  for  the  lake ;  but 
this  is  not  so.  The  Bearcamp  River  rises  among  these  mountains, 
and,  after  approaching  within  a  few  miles  of  Winnipesaukee,  trends 
eastward  and  discharges  its  waters  into  the  Ossipee  Lake,  from  thence 
disgorged  through  the  Ossipee  River  into  the  Saco. 

It  will  be  seen  that,  while  the  Ossipee,  an  inconsiderable  body  of 
water,  only  six  or  eight  miles  in  its  greatest  length,  receives  the 
waters  of  two  rivers,  —  the  Bearcamp  and  Pine,  —  the  Winnipesau- 
kee, more  than  four  times  its  size,  is  fed  by  no  stream  of  any  great 


100  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

consequence,  the  outlet  of  Goose  or  Measley  Pond,  which  falls  into 
the  Winnipesaukee  at  Meredith  Village,  being  one  of  its  largest  af- 
fluents. Discharging  an  important  river,  and  constantly  maintaining 
full  banks,  its  poverty  of  resource,  and  the  extensive  surface  pre- 
sented to  the  depleting  process  of  evaporation,  this  lake  is  a  problem, 
the  solution  of  which  can  only  be  reached  by  the  conclusion  that  it 
is  fed  by  invisible  subterranean  springs,  very  large  and  numerous. 

Nearly  all  of  the  territory  on  the  eastern  side  is  drained  by  the 
Cochecho,  which  has  its  source  or  sources  in  the  immediate  vicinity, 
and  it  is  well  established  that  the  lake  can  easily  be  turned  and 
drained  into  the  Cochecho  instead  of  its  present  channel,  thus 
making  a  vast  difference  in  the  power  of  the  noble  Merrimack ;  for, 
without  this  important  tributary,  and  more  especially  without  this 
indispensable  reservoir,  the  supply  would  fall  short.  Experience 
and  a  wise  forecast  combined  have  led  the  great  companies  along  the 
river  to  provide  artificial  means  to  reduce  the  whole  extent  of  this 
vast  reservoir  several  feet,  to  meet  the  contingencies  of  hot  weather 
and  dry  seasons. 

The  lake  abounds  in  fish  of  many  varieties  ;  the  lake  trout  and  the 
pickerel  being  the  most  important  and  valuable.  Cusk  are  much 
prized  by  many,  and  perch  and  horned-pout  may  be  taken  at  any 
time,  by  the  most  inexperienced  anglers,  in  quantities  to  suit.  A 
variety  of  salt-water  fish  were  some  years  since  placed  in  this  lake 
by  experimenting  parties ;  but  .as  nothing  was  seen  or  known  of  them 
afterwards,  it  was  presumed  they  found  their  level  either  in  a  "  wa- 
tery grave  "  or  through  the  channel  of  the  Winnipesaukee  and  the 
Merrimack  in  a  more  congenial  element,  the  briny  deep. 

Lake  trout  are  taken,  but  not  so  plentiful  or  so  large  as  formerly ; 
still  an  occasional  laker  of  gratifying  dimensions  is  hooked,  varying 
in  size  from  three  to  thirty  pounds.'  In  June,  1868,  one  was 
taken  out  weighing  seventeen  and  a  half  pounds.  The  sportsman  is 
always  liable  to  procure  a  coveted  contest  with  at  least  one  of  these 
stout  and  powerful  fellows.  Deep  fishing  is  the  only  mode  of  taking 
them ;  and,  proceeding  to  the  approved  fishing-grounds  in  a  skiff, 
with  aa  oarsman  to  assist,  the  sportsman  takes  the  soundings,  which 
vary  from  sixty  to  eighty  feet,  then  lowers  the  hook,  attached  to  a 
strong  line,  sufficiently  near  the  bottom,  and  nervously  awaits  the 
issue.  Unmistakable  demonstrations  from  the  deep,  warning  him  that 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  101 

the  prize  is  hooked,  the  sportsman  now  turns  his  attention  and  skill 
to  the  work  of  securing  the  trout.  Practice  and  prudence  are  now 
required  for  a  safe  and  successful  issue  of  the  contest.  The  fish,  dis- 
covering his  condition,  makes  tremendous  efforts  to  free  himself,  and 
requires  to  be  reeled  in  and  run  out  with  a  firm  hand  and  a  taut 
line  until  exhausted,  or,  as  it  is  termed,  "drowned,"  before  he  can 
safely  be  secured. 

But  the  pickerel  is  the  most  plentiful  and  the  most  valuable  of  the 
lake  fisheries.  Summer  and  winter  alike  the  business  of  catching 
pickerel  is  prosecuted  with  great  success.  In  winter,  it  is  estimated 
that  five  thousand  lines  are  the  average  of  the  daily  set,  whenever 
the  weather  will  permit.  Ice  fishing  may  be  described  thus  :  — 

A  party  of  two  proceed  with  axe  and  chisel  and  cut  from  thirty 
to  fifty  holes  in  the  ice,  this  being  the  number  they  can  properly 
attend  to.  They  then  proceed  to  sound  the  depth  of  water  in  each 
hole  successively,  and  set  the  hook.  The  depth  of  water  is  usually 
from  three  to  five  yards,  and  the  line  is  gauged  a  little  short  of  the 
depth  required;  a  movable  signal  of  colored  cloth  is  attached  to  the 
line ;  a  live,  red-finned  shiner  hooked  directly  under  the  dorsal  fin 
and  lowered  through  the  hole ;  the  other  end  of  the  line  is  secured 
firmly  to  some  object,  and  the  slack  of  the  line  near  the  signal  is 
attached  to  a  slender  twig  a  foot  or  more  above  the  ice.  All  the 
lines  being  set,  the  fishermen  carefully  watch  the  going  down  of  the 
signals,  which  occur  when  the  pickerel  takes  the  bait.  In  this  man- 
ner they  often  secure  large  fares,  and  have  lively  work  to  care  for  all 
the  lines  properly.  Many  of  the  inhabitants  about  the  lake  have 
shanties  constructed  on  a  sort  of  sled,  provided  with  comforts  and 
accommodations  for  sleeping  and  cooking,  and,  when  the  ice  is  suf- 
ficiently strong,  oxen  and  horses  are  attached,  and  they  are  hauled 
upon  the  lake  to  the  fishing-grounds,  and  rented  to  parties,  affording 
a  considerable  revenue  to  the  enterprising  proprietors. 

Summer  fishing  is,  however,  if  not  more  profitable,  much  more 
comfortable  and  exciting.  At  this  season  the  numerous  and  exten- 
sive estuaries  and  coves  which  indent  the  shore  are  all  alive  with 
pickerel,  prowling  in  quest  of  prey  among  the  reeds  and  rushes  along 
the  marshes,  or  watching  for  the  little  blue  fly  securely  hidden  under 
the  lily-pads,  nuphar  advena,  that  cover  the  surface  with  their 
broad  leaves  to  the  very  brink  of  deep  water.  Seated  in  the  bow  of 


102  THE  NEEEINACK  E1VER; 

a  boat,  with  a  careful  sculler  in  the  stern,  armed  with  a  twenty-two 
foot  rod  and  line  to  match,  the  boat  pushes  carefully  along  fifteen  or 
twenty  yards  outside  the  line  of  water-grass ;  the  hook,  baited  with  a 
frog's  leg  peeled,  is  handled  out  and  made  to  ricochet  along  the  sur- 
face. The  pickerel  whirls  out  from  his  hiding-place,  and,  with  a 
powerful  muscular  movement,  rushes  upon  the  prey ;  at  this  time,  ap- 
parently, in  a  completely  inverted  attitude.  Experts  differ  as  to  the 
best  mode  of  proceeding  from  this  point,  —  some  contending  that,  as 
he  instinctively  strikes  his  jaws  together  with  great  force  to  despatch 
his  prey  before  swallowing  it,  it  is  impossible  to  pull  the  hook  away 
from  him  ;  consequently  he  is  sure  to  be  fastened.  Others  endorse  the 
theory  that  he  never  swallows  the  bait  until  satisfied  that  it  is  both 
killed  and  palatable.  Convinced  that  the  frog's  leg  possesses  the 
latter  quality,  he  is  allowed  to  proceed  with  it  in  his  own  way.  Hav- 
ing got  it  in  his  mouth,  he  invariably  retires  to  the  vicinity  of  the 
bottom,  but  a  short  distance,  to  test  its  quality.  It  is  necessary  to 
keep  a  tolerably  straight  line  on  him  during  this  time,  as  he  always 
moves  the  moment  he  swallows  the  bait,  and  this  movement  is  a 
signal  to  take  him  in.  It  is  believed  that  the  latter  mode  is  much 
the  surest  and  safest,  as  it  hooks  him  stronger  and  more  certain, 
although  practice  is  required  to  land  him  safely  in  the  boat.  The 
pickerel  is  an  excellent  pan-fish,  second  only  in  value  and  quality  to 
the  trout,  and  is,  like  the  latter,  a  most  important  item  of  New 
Hampshire  inland  fishing :  and,  although  he  is  not  found  in  brooks, 
or  in  the  cold  waters  of  the  mountains,  like  the  trout,  he  is  indigenous 
to  all  the  other  waters  of  the  State,  rivers  as  well  as  lakes  and  ponds. 
One  feature,  not,  however,  peculiar  to '  these  waters,  but  which 
adorns  and  beautifies  them,  is  the  starry  magnificence  of  the  milky 
way  of  the  great  white  water-lily  of  midsummer,  which  here  flour- 
ishes in  more  than  Oriental  luxuriance  and  splendor,  and  may  prop- 
erly be  termed  the  queen  of  the  New  England  flora.  Gathered  in 
huge  bunches,  with  long  and  leathery  stems  like  coils  of  lacings, 
and  placed  in  capacious  vases  on  parlor  tables,  they  are  regally  grand 
to  look  upon,  and  emit  an  incomparable  delicacy  and  richness  of 
fragrance,  an  intoxicating  perfume  pervading  the  house ;  but  here  is 
not  the  theatre  of  their  greatest  attraction.  Floating  buoyant  and 
graceful  along  the  lake,  they  seem  an  endless  city,  a  great  London, 
in  miniature  palaces  of  ivory  and  gold. 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  103 

The  Victoria  Regia  may  be  a  superbly  royal  flower,  the  Egyptian 
Lotus  may  be  famed  above  all  ordinary  productions,  but  the  water- 
lily  of  New  England  can  never  be  surpassed  in  grace  and  beauty,  in 
the  untold  wealth  of  its  unequalled  fragrance,  or  in  the  hearts  of  all 
classes  or  sorts  of  people.  The  little  barefoot  hails  them  with  no  less 
eagerness  and  delight  than  the  lady  of  refined  taste,  or  even  the 
grave  and  grizzled  merchant  prince.  Shutting  the  gates  to  their 
golden  citadel  at  close  of  day,  as  if  to  avoid  the  darkness  and  gloom 
and  the  contaminating  miasma  of  night,  and  opening  their  bright 
eyes  with  the  opening  day,  they  typify  the  pure  and  noble  in  human 
life  and  character,  and  symbolize  by  their  natural  beauty  and  purity, 
the  genuine  Christian  heart,  bestowing  on  all  alike,  the  humble  and 
the  high,  their  generous  fragrance. 

Several  steamboats  ply  across  the  lake,  bearing  immense  numbers  of 
tourists  and  pleasure-seekers  towards  their  destination, — the  mountain 
region,  —  and  there  can  be  no  more  perfect  paradise  on  earth  imagined 
than  the  hurricane-deck  of  one  of  these  floating  palaces  on  a  hot  sum- 
mer day,  swiftly  gliding  over  the  lake ;  to  see  the  gems  of  islands 
dotting  all  the  vast  expanse  of  water,  and  the  white  water-lily  gently 
floating,  securely  anchored  by  its  stem,  or  humbly  dip  its  head  be- 
neath the  resistless  boat,  then,  rising,  kindly  waft  its  grateful  fragrance 
on  the  wings  of  gentle  zephyrs  over  all  the  scene,  while  the  bright 
waters,  the  deep-green  foliage  of  the  shore,  the  shrill  scream  of  the 
loon  in  the  distance,  coming  like  a  thrice-told  echo  to  the  ear,  the 
mountains  rising  in  hazy  grandeur,  scarred  with  ghastly  rifts  and 
seams,  verdant  meadows,  cornfields,  and  green  pastures  of  flocks  and 
herds,  —  all  these  combined,  make  up  a  landscape  view,  a  gorgeous 
panorama,  which  may  be  seen  and  enjoyed,  but  not  described. 

The  waters  of  this  lake,  although  clear,  pure,  sparkling  and 
sweet,  differ  in  color  from  the  Pemigewasset  or  Merrimack,  being 
darker;  the  difference  is  so  marked  as  to  be  readily  told  fifty  miles 
below  where  the  great  reservoir  is  tapped.  New  Hampshire  is 
justly  proud  of  her  inland  waters,  foremost  of  which  are  the  Mer- 
rimack and  Winnipesaukee.  In  this  feeling  all  the  people  of  every 
section  cordially  unite.  Nor  is  she  selfish  in  this  matter ;  for  she 
pours  out  her  boundless  wealth  of  waters  into  the  lap  of  her  sister 
State,  the  latter  equally  with  herself  enjoying  the  benefits  of  the 
unrivalled  Merrimack  and  all  its  tributaries.  They  are  not  only  of 


104  THE  MEERIMACK  KIVEK; 

great  importance  and  value  at  the  present  time,  but  are  of  great 
historic  interest.  The  extent  and  variety  of  manufacturing  am1 
mechanical  business  carried  on  by  the  indispensable  aid  of  these 
•waters  is  one  of  the  principal  sources  of  her  thrift,  and  a  main 
avenue  to  that  position  of  independence  and  wealth  she  now  occu- 
pies and  enjoys,  in  spite  of  the  adverse  circumstances  of  high  lati- 
tude and  ungenerous  soil.  Some  of  her  noblest  sons,  best  known  to 
fame,  were  raised  along  these  waters,  and  some  have  found  in  this 
beloved  valley  a  final  earthly  resting-place ;  others,  less  known  to 
fame,  yet  no  less  worthy  men,  who,  although  perhaps  untutored, 
entertaining  a  just  appreciation  of  liberty  and  independence,  marched 
bravely  through  from  Bunker  Hill  to  Yorktown,  making  a  more 
telling  and  conspicuous  mark  upon  the  enemy  than  on  the  muster- 
roll. 

It  is  no  new  thing  that  the  lake  should  be  the  centre  of  attraction, 
or  a  thoroughfare  for  a  great  number  of  people.  It  has  been  so  for 
hundreds  of  years,  the  only  change  being  in  the  character  and  object 
of  those,  who,  in  the  rolling  decades  of  time,  have  made  their  way 
hither.  Indians  came  here  to  collect  and  carry  away  their  subsist- 
ence, provided  by  the  beneficent  hand  of  nature ;  then  followed 
next  his  relentless  and  exterminating  pursuer,  and  lo  !  the  poor  In- 
dian was  faced  westward  to  the  land  of  sunset,  where  the  sun  of  his 
race  will  presently  set  in  darkness  and  in  blood,  to  rise  no  more. 
Then  followed  the  woodman's  axe,  —  that  mighty  leveller,  —  toil  and 
mechanism,  enterprise,  trade  and  pleasure-seekers ;  and,  finally,  they 
came  to  take  the  very  waters  that  bred  the  Indian's  meat. 

Winnipesaukee  is  an  Indian  name,  and  is  derived  from  winne 
(beautiful),  nipe  (water),  and  kees  (high),  and  auke  (a  place)  ;  and 
the  Indian  tribe  that  inhabited  the  territory  adjacent  to  the  lake  took 
the  name,  the  Winnipesaukee,  as  well  as  the  lake  itself,  —  "  Beautiful 
water  of  the  high  place."  Nothing  can  exceed  the  native  simplicity 
of  this  descriptive  title  given  by  these  untutored  savages,  showing 
an  appreciative  and  admirable  taste  for  the  grand  and  beautiful, 
which  may  profitably  be  studied  by  some  enlightened  people  whose 
nobler  natures  seem  to  be  swallowed  up  in  the  pursuit  of  lucre,  and 
who  see  no  beauty  in  anything,  unless  it  has  a  visible  dollar  in  it. 
Another  interpretation  has  frequently  been  given  to  this  word,  which, 
entirely  inaccurate,  is  yet  exquisitely  beautiful,  and  has,  no  doubt, 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  105 

been  suggested  by  its  eminent  appropriateness  :  "  The  smile  of  the 
Great  Spirit."  Emphatically  a  "  smile,"  equally  to  the  Indian  and 
the  white  man,  of  the  Great  Spirit,  this  lovely  lake  has  been.  To 
the  white  man  it  has  been  a  teeming  and  inexhaustible  source  of 
pleasure  and  profit,  and  is  literally  a  fountain  of  untold  wealth  to 
him  and  his  posterity.  To  the  Indian  it  was  a  granary  and  a  treas- 
ury, affording  him  the  means  of  subsistence,  material  for  all  his 
implements,  primitive,  yet  indispensable  to  him ,  whether  on  the  war- 
path, the  chase,  or  in  the  economy  of  his  family  and  domestic 
arrangements.  It  also  afforded  him  the  means  of  travel  and  com- 
munication with  his  neighbors ;  and  the  alluvial  bottoms,  quite  nu- 
merous about  the  lake,  cultivated  by  the  squaws,  served  for  his  scanty 
tillage,  providing  him  with  gourds,  and  also  an  opportunity  to  in- 
dulge in  that  indispensable  Indian  institution,  the  green-corn  dance. 
Like  all  the  tribes  of  the  Merrimack  valley,  the  Winnipesaukees 
were  tributaries  and  confederates  of  the  powerful  and  warlike  nation 
of  the  Pennacooks,  and  it  is  said  that  the  established  or  customary 
holidays  of  the  Indians  were  a  sort  of  movable  feasts  of  the  Penna- 
cook  confederacy,  alternating  between  the  leading  fishing-places, 
such  as  Pawtucket,  "  Namoskeag  "  and  Winnipesaukee,  and  the 
prominent  points  where  game  was  collected,  and  the  agricultural 
districts,  although  the  latter,  being  few  and  very  limited,  were  of 
secondary  and  inconsiderable  importance  or  consequence.  The  Win- 
nipesaukees maintained  a  permanent  fish- weir,  or  ahquedaukenash,* 
as  they  called  it,  at  the  outlet  of  the  lake  where  all  the  tribes  were 
cordially  invited  to  assemble  for  the  spring  and  fall  catch,  and  all 
who  could,  attended.  One  remarkable  fact  connected  with  the  fish- 
ing at  this  place  was  that  nothing  but  shad  were  captured.  Of  all 
the  migratory  tribes  that  left  the  sea  in  the  spring  for  their  spawn- 
ing-ground, the  shad  alone  reached  the  lake,  the  eel  seeking  the 
congenial  mud ;  the  alewives,  being  small  fry,  took  to  the  smaller 
brooks  and  ponds,  where  the  absence  of  large  fish  rendered  it  less 
hazardous  to  their  ova.  Salmon  and  shad  proceeded  together,  until, 
reaching  the  forks  of  the  Merrimack  in  the  town  of  Franklin,  they 
parted  company ;  the  salmon  heading  up  the  Pemigewasset,  which, 
having  its  sources  high  up  among  the  mountains,  and  its  course 

*  The  last  syllable  of  this  word  —  ash  —  attached  to  an  Indian  noun,  signifies  the  plural 
number;  applied  to  inanimate  things. 
14 


106  THE  MEERIMACK  EIVER; 

through  a  long  stretch  of  sh»dy  forests,  afforded  those  cold  waters, 
ripples,  plunging  torrents,  dark  pools,  and  wild  whirling  eddies,  in 
which  this  magnificent  fish  so  much  delighted,  and  where  they  found 
their  favorite  spawning-grounds.  Shad,  as  peculiar  and  unanimous 
in  their  tastes,  preferring  warmer  and  more  quiet  waters,  took  to  the 
Winnipesaukee,  and  through  that  river  passed  into  the  lake  in 
countless  myriads,  where  there  was  ample  room  and  favorable  oppor- 
tunities for  the  development  of  the  millions  of  eggs  that  were  re- 
quired to  supply  the  waste  of  the  original  stock,  constantly  depleted 
by  ravenous  fish,  and  a  still  more  insatiate  enemy,  the  red-skin. 

"  Ahquedaukenash  "  signifies,  literally,  a  dam,  or  stopping-place, 
and  was  constructed  in  this  wise :  Large  granite  boulders  were  placed 
in  an  irregular  line  across  the  river,  the  boulders  representing  the 
angles  of  a  crooked  rail-fence,  and  at  a  proper  distance  below  the 
falls.  AVherever  it  was  practicable,  strong  sapling  stakes  were  driven 
into  the  bed  of  the  river,  and  used  for  the  same  purpose,  or  took  the 
place  of  rocks ;  but  at  the  outlet  of  the  Winnipesaukee  this  was  im- 
practicable, owing  to  the  solid  character  of  the  river-bed.  Having 
thus  prepared  the  foundation,  the  rocks  being  some  ten  or  twelve 
feet  apart,  a  netting  was  then  woven  of  twigs  and  tough  and  pliable 
bark,  with  meshes  sufficiently  close  to  prevent  the  fish  escaping. 
This  was  strung  entirely  across  the  river,  above  and  against  the 
rocks,  excepting  a  space  between  one  or  two  of  the  rocks  or  stakes, 
these  being  left  open  for  the  fish  to  pass  through  in  their  progress  up 
the  river ;  through  these  openings  the  whole  force  of  the  fish  must 
and  did  pass. 

As  few  of  them  scaled  the  falls  until  after  repeated  efforts,  and  the 
rapidly  advancing  "  school  "  crowded  steadily  through  the  opening,  it 
follows  that  the  pen.  or  ahquedaukenash,  was  soon  full.  Now  was  the 
time  for  the  Indian  shad-catcher.  Expert  fishermen,  and  such  others 
as  were  selected  and  appointed  for  the  purpose,  manned  the  canoes 
and  pushed  boldly  out  among  the  pent-up  prisoners,  and  with  spear 
and  dip-net  lost  no  time  in  filling  the  canoe,  in  this  regard  illustrat- 
ing the  old  maxim,  "Make  hay  while  the  sun  shines."  Returning 
freighted  heavily,  they  handed  them  to  the  squaws,  who  stood  ready, 
knife  in  handr  to  split  the  fish,  and  hang  them  up  to  smoke  for  win- 
ter on  the  centre-pole  of  the  wigwam,  or  laid  them  out  to  dry  in  the 
sun  on  improvised  flakes. 


ITt   30UKCE  AND  IT'S  TEIBUTAEIES.  107 

Sports  were  indulged  in,  varying  nearly  from  the  sublime  quite  to 
the  ridiculous,  serious,  laughable,  and  grotesque;  speech-making, 
feasting,  and  frolicking.  Generally  the  soft  and  tender  emotions  were 
indulged  in,  and  the  young  lover  poured  the  tale  of  his  long-cherished 
affection  in  a  deep,  overcoming  guttural  into  the  willing  ears  of  his 
tan-colored  charmer,  and  bent  down  a  strong  sapling  to  symbolize  the 
tenacity  of  his  affection  and  how  much  it  could  yield  without  giving 
way;  or,  perhaps,  to  insinuate  how  he  would  "double  up"  any 
luckless  wight  who  should  have  the  temerity  to  offer  to  put  a  ring  in 
her  nose. 

Holidays  and  holiday-rites  were  frequent  among  the  Indians,  — 
the  male  portion  of  them,  — the  squaw's  first  genuine  holiday  coming 
generally  when  she  died.  While  living  she  was  a  mere  drudge ;  her 
sphere  was  to  do  all  the  work  of  every  description  in  doors  and  out. 
She  was  first  to  recognize  the  unquestioned  superiority  of  the  status 
of  her  lord  and  master,  anticipate  and  provide  for  all  his  wants, 
keep  the  wigwam  in  (Indian)  shape,  prepare  the  game  and  fish  for 
preservation,  or  for  present  use,  care  for  the  pappooses,  cultivate  the 
gourd,  the  pompion,  and  the  maize,  and  grind  the  latter  for  table 
use,  and  then  devote  herself  assiduously  to  ornamental  needlework, 
hi  this  they  were  tasty,  skilful,  and  active.  Beside  moccasins,  belts, 
and  head-gear,  they  wrought  broad  blankets  with  beads,  fancy  feath- 
ers, and  bones  of  animals  in  fanciful  and  fantastic  patterns,  in  many 
cases  showing  a  genius  for  combination  and  display  artistic  and  mer- 
itorious. It  may  seem  strange,  with  all  their  other  duties,  arduous 
and  severe,  toilsome  and  wearing,  and  in  the  face  of  the  discouraging 
fact  that  none  of  this  finery  was  for  their  own  adornment,  but  for 
their  imperious  and  idle  lords,  that  they  should  have  found  either 
time  or  inclination  to  prosecute  the  ornamental  art  to  the  extent  they 
did ;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  tradition  and  custom  made  her 
uncomplainingly  and  willingly  subservient.  Even  this  is  less  than 
the  fact;  for  she  taxed  her  ingenuity  and  strength,  but  never  her  pa- 
tience, to  devise  or  invent  some  new  surprise,  some  ornament  more 
beautiful  and  rare,  with  which  to  greet  him  on  his  return  from  the 
war-path  or  the  chase.  That  the  Indian  woman  should  differ  so 
widely  from  the  white  in  this  respect,  in  her  sheer  unselfishness  in 
abdicating  regard  for  personal  adornment  in  favor  of  her  husband,  in 


108  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

her  self-sacrificing  devotion,  —  all  this  may  not  be  strange,  for  was 
she  not  a  barbarian  and  a  pagan  ? 

The  tribes  of  the  Merrimack  valley,  consisting  of  the  Winnipe- 
saukees,  Pennacooks,  Souhegans,  Nashuas,  Wamesits,  and  Agawams, ' 
of  which  the  Pennacooks  were  the  acknowledged  head,  were  united 
in  a  powerful  offensive  and  defensive  confederacy,  to  which  belonged, 
in  addition  to  those  named,  other  Indians,  both  in  New  Hampshire 
and  Maine.  All  of  these  were  undoubtedly  entitled  to  indulge  in 
fishing,  under  Indian  regulations,  in  any  or  all  the  waters  of  the  ter- 
ritory of  the  Pennacook  nation.  With  hooks  made  of  bone,  dip-nets, 
spears,  and  other  rude  devices,  it  was  prosecuted  from  necessity,  but 
generally  on  a  small  scale  and  with  indifferent  success,  except  at  the 
ahquedaukenash.  where  the  unfailing  supply  and  the  assembling  of 
the  representatives  of  all  the  tribes  made  this  a  festival  of  great  note 
and  consequence  among  the  Indians. 

The  permanent  ahquedauken  at  the  foot  of  Lake  Winnipesaukee 
was  of  substantial  construction,  portions  of  it  remaining  long  after 
most  of  the  emblems  and  monuments  of  aboriginal  occupation  had 
gone  to  that  oblivion  to  which  the  doomed  projectors  were  ultimately 
consigned;  but  though  the  Indian  is  gone,  and  the  "stopping-place" 
is  gone,  and  the  salmon  and  shad  are  gone,  the  name  still  remains, 
and  the  fish-weir  of  the  native,  far  away  in  the  heart  of  an  unknown 
wilderness,  is  now  familiar  throughout  the  land  as  "  The  Weirs,"  a 
crowded  thoroughfare  on  the  route  of  travel  to  the  mountains,  at  the 
foot  of  the  lake.  How  changed  the  scene  !  Where  the  red  man 
grubbed  for  a  few  stalks  of  stinted  corn,  the  ploughshare,  bright 
with  use,  turns  up  the  teeming  soil ;  the  rude  fish-weir  has  given 
way  to  skilful  artificial  arrangements  for  taking  the  water  from  the 
lake  at  will ;  the  frail  canoe  has  given  place  to  the  palatial  steam- 
boat, and  the  primitive  and  picturesque  costume  of  a  bearskin  tied 
about  the  waist  became  unbecoming  and  disappeared  before  the  resist- 
less march  of  fashion ;  and  elegant  fabrics  from  the  Eastern  World, 
with  length  and  breadth  enough  to  gratify  the  most  ardent  admirer 
of  extravagant  proportions,  mark  the  difference  between  the  eco- 
nomical and  scanty  provisions  of  mother  nature  and  the  productions 
of  art  and  skill.  In  brief,  the  change  of  proprietors  has  wrought  a 
change  in  all  else,  and  it  may  be  truly  said  that  countless  ages  rolled 
away,  and  left  it  still  a  howling  wilderness,  while  the  lapse  of  two  hun- 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  109 

Jred  years  under  the  beneficent  influence  of  civilization  has  made  it 
blossom  like  the  rose.  Where  the  fearful  war-whoop  resounded  from 
crag  to  cliff,  waking  the  echoes  of  the  dismal  forest,  and  the  prowl- 
ing wolf  howled  a  dire  homesickness  to  the  benighted  and  solitary 
forest  ranger,  and  the  splash  of  the  paddle  as  the  dexterous  red  man  • 
"feathered  his  oar,"  or  the  plunge  of  the  gigantic  moose  as  he  laved 
his  unwieldy  bulk  in  the  tranquil  waters  of  the  lake,  or  the  loud  scream 
of  the  loon  as  it  called  to  its  mate  across  the  tranquil  bosom  of  its 
waters,  —  where  sounds  like  these,  and  only  such  as  these,  were  heard, 
the  iron  horse  now  tears  along,  bearing  his  endless  trains  of  humanity 
and  merchandise,  the  pleasant  sounds  of  spindle,  loom,  and  anvil  are 
heard  through  all  the  day  ;  and  on  the  very  spot  where  stood  the  red 
man's  wigwam  —  a  rude,  uncomfortable  hovel  —  are  flourishing  vil- 
lages of  comfortable  and  elegant  dwellings,  fine  stores,  large  and  con- 
venient workshops,  and  an  intelligent,  industrious,  enterprising,  and 
thrifty  population.  What  has  wrought  this  great  change  ?  Precisely 
the  same  generous  earth  exists  that  grew  the  Indian's  scanty  vegetable 
products ;  the  same  pellucid  waters  spread  out  like  a  broad  mirror  and 
roll  their  never-ending  tide  down  to  the  unsated  ocean ;  the  same 
mountains,  towering  high,  moody,  and  silent,  stand  guard  and  senti- 
nel around ;  the  same  translucent  atmosphere  pervades  all  things  and 
places,  and  above  all  the  same  genial  sun  rolls  on,  as  it  has  for  num- 
berless centuries,  warming  and  fructifying ;  and  the  seasons  come  in 
turn  as  they  have  always  done.  Then  why  this  change?  Has  there 
been  a  new  dispensation  of  providential  favors  ?  No ;  it  is  the  superior 
organization,  mental  and  physical,  of  the  Caucasian  race.  Persever- 
ance, native  skill,  untiring  industry,  handicraft,  cunning,  under  intelli- 
gent direction,  and,  above  all,  the  genius  of  the  white  man's  government, 
— liberty  restrained  by  law  that  it  may  not  degenerate  into  lawless- 
ness and  license, — these  are  the  predominating  and  pre-eminent  causes 
of  the  immeasurable  difference  between  the  red  man  and  the  white. 

On  leaving  the  lake,  Lake  Village,  an  enterprising  and  flourish- 
ing village  in  the  town  of  Guilford,  is  reached  at  a  short  distance 
from  the  foot  of  the  lake.  Possibly  this  observation  may  be  incor- 
rect ;  for,  although  the  outlet  of  the  lake  proper  is  a  river  most  in- 
disputably, having  all  the  characteristics,  a  rapid  and  uncl^nging 
current  and  a  pebbly  bottom,  confined  to  a  channel,  and  having,  also, 
the  legal  status  of  a  river,  yet  a  little  further  down  it  debouches 


110  THE  MEERIMACK  KIVER; 

into  a  broad  lake,  and  may  not,  perhaps,  improperly  be  regarded  as 
an  extension  of  the  lake  proper,  especially  as  it  maintains  the  char- 
acter of  a  lake  for  ten  or  fifteen  miles  below  the  above-named  village. 

When  the  town  of  Meredith  was  divided,  the  southerly  part,  in- 
cluding what  was  formerly  known  as  Meredith  Bridge,  was  set  off 
and  incorporated  as  a  separate  town,  under  the  name  of  Laconia. 
This  is  a  large  and  flourishing  town.  About  a  mile  below  Lake  Vil- 
'  lage  is  the  principal  village,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  and, 
like  Amesbury  and  Salisbury,  in  Massachusetts,  it  is  difficult  to  de- 
cide where  one  terminates  and  the  other  begins.  Laconia  was  long 
since  the  name  by  which  all  this  region  of  country  was  known,  and 
it  is  presumed  that  this  fact,  together  with  the  other,  namely,  the 
town  of  Meredith  being  an  unwieldy  territory,  was  the  reason  why 
the  town  was  divided.  In  this  village,  as  in  the  adjoining  one,  there 
are  extensive  manufactories.  The  largest  companies  at  the  present 
time  are,  the  Belknap,  capital  $100,000;  Guilford  Hosiery  Co., 
$50,000;  Ranlet  Co.,  $15,000.  In  Lake  Village  are  situated  the 
repair-shops  of  the  Boston,  Concord,  and  Montreal  Railroad ;  and, 
scattered  through  both,  are  mechanical  works  varying  from  shoe-pegs 
to  locomotive  engines. 

Only  on  mature  reflection  can  the  incalculable  benefit  of  these 
manufactories  located  along  the  route  of  this  river  and  its  tributaries 
be  realized.  Flourishing  cities  and  beautiful  villages  have  sprung 
up  from  the  very  rocks  and  sands  which  were  hitherto  valueless  ter- 
ritory, and  which,  but  for  this  river,  might,  perhaps,  have  remained 
forever  an  unproductive  waste.  It  has  collected  together  a  vast  capi- 
tal, inventive  genius  and  talent,  and  created  an  immense  number  of 
skilful  artisans,  mechanics  and  workmen,  and  a  thrifty  and  industri- 
ous population,  thus  making  the  capital,  skill,  and  labor  reciprocally 
remunerative.  These  communities  have  afforded  the  neighboring 
country  a  profitable  and  steady  market  wherein  to  buy,  sell,  or  ex- 
change ;  made  cotton  and  woollen  fabrics  so  abundant  as  to  be  afforded, 
elegant  and  cheap,  to  distant  and  less  favored  people,  and  secured  to 
the  United  States  a  well-merited  reputation  in  this  branch  of  busi- 
ness, equal  in  all  respects  —  beauty,  style,  quality  and  finish,  du- 
rability and  cheapness  —  to  that  of  older  and  more  experienced 
countries.  Indeed,  the  Merrimack  River  manufacturers  enter  confi- 
dently into  the  expositions  of  the  whole  world,  and  bear  away  in 


ITS  SOUECE  AND  ITS  TBIBUTABIES.  Ill 

triumph  the  gold  medal  and  other  evidences  of  superiority  over  a 
prodigious  array  of  reputation,  capital,  organization,  and  skill  long 
established.  Thus  it  is  that  the  immense  business  created  by  this 
fine  river  is  not  only  a  benefit  at  home,  but  has  its  beneficent  ramifi- 
cations throughout  every  channel  of  the  country. 

How  long  the  Merrimack  has  maintained  its  present  condition  and 
appearance  it  is  impossible  even  to  conjecture.  Certain  it  is  that  at 
some  period,  far  in  the  dim,  distant  past,  the  river  was  one  continuous 
chain  of  lakes,  whose  barriers,  being  worn  by  water,  ice,  and  drifting 
wood,  have  successively  given  way  until  this,  whole  system  of  collected 
waters  was  drained  and  ultimately  reduced  to,  and  confined  within, 
the  present  banks.  Extensive  alluvial  deposits  indicate  the  former 
character  of  these  waters,  and  their  location  and  dimensions  can  still 
be  distinctly  traced,  while  far  below  the  surface  are  found  well-de- 
fined vegetable  deposits,  logs,  and  other  foreign  matter  brought  here 
and  left,  perhaps,  for  evidence  of  these  facts,  far  away  from  the  pres- 
ent channel  of  the  river.  If  more  proof  were  needed,  it  is  supplied 
by  the  peculiar  stratification  of  the  soil,  which  is  regarded  by  scien- 
tific men  and  geologists  as  conclusive  on  this  point. 

The  great  bay,  and  even  Lake  Winnipesaukee  itself,  are  cited  as 
still  existing  portions  of  the  former  condition ;  and  who  shall  say 
when  the  time  will  come  that  from  the  northern  extremity  of  the 
lake  to  the  forks  at  Franklin  nothing  but  a  rapid  and  noisy  river 
shall  mark  the  former  existence  of  these  invaluable  and  beautiful 
waters.  It  has  already  been  observed  that  the  neighborhood  of 
Lake  Winnipesaukee  was  a  famous  place  for  the  Indians  to  con- 
gregate. From  here  they  went  down  to  Cocheco,  Dunstable,  or 
other  places,  to  barter  with  the  whites,  or  swept  down  upon  the  al- 
most defenceless  colonists  in  their  most  fearful  raids,  impelled  by  a 
savage  barbarity  and  a  thirst  for  human  blood.  At  that  time  the 
whole  of  the  vast  region  stretching  away  to  the  north,  beyond 
the  head-quarters  of  the  Pennacooks,  now  Concord,  was  unexplored 
and  entirely  unknown,  except  the  French  settlements  in  Canada; 
consequently  the  settlers  along  the  Cocheco,  the  Piscataqua,  and 
the  lower  Merrimack  were  without  even  the  ability  to  conjecture 
the  hordes  of  barbarians  this  wilderness  was  capable  of  producing 
and  pouring  down  at  a  moment  when  least  expected  upon  the 
defenceless  settlers.  This  want  of  knowledge  of  the  number  and 


112  THE  MEEBIMACK  EIVEE; 

condition  of  their  adroit  and  implacable  foes  annoyed  them  exceed- 
ingly, and  caused  them  to  become  vigilant,  active,  and  always  on 
the  alert,  and  was  the  cause,  even  more  than  their  numbers  or 
courage,  of  constantly  frustrating  the  exterminating  designs  in- 
dulged in  by  the  savages. 

Had  the  tribes  proved  as  numerous,  determined,  and  well  pre- 
pared as  was  feared,  the  progress  of  the  colonies,  not  only  in  New 
Hampshire  but  Massachusetts  likewise,  must  have  been  greatly 
impeded,  if  not  altogether  stopped.  As  it  was,  they  would  often 
swoop  down  upon  the  scattered  settlements  as  swift,  sudden,  and 
unexpected  as  the  hawk,  and  if  they  often  met  his  fate  they  still 
managed  to  inflict  material  injury  upon  the  victims.  While  this 
state  of  things  existed,  men  were  cut  down  in  the  forest,  and  in  the 
clearing.  Everywhere  they  went  armed,  often  throwing  out  pickets 
to  protect  them  while  at  work.  Families  awoke  at  dead  of  night  to 
hear  the  fearful  war-whoop,  to  see  their  homes  enveloped  in  flames, 
and  the  deadly  tomahawk  and  the  dreaded  scalping-knife  gleam  in 
the  light  of  the  burning  dwelling.  Without  succor,  and  with  no 
hope  of  escape,  to  be  resigned  and  to  die  was  all  that  was  left  for 
them,  unless  it  was  desirable  to  have  a  little  barbarous  diversion  in 
the  shape  of  torture.  In  the'  event  of  torture  being  determined 
upon,  savage  ingenuity  was  taxed  to  devise  or  invent  a  refinement 
of  cruelty  which  would  afford  frightful  and  ferocious  amusement. 

Midnight  massacre,  and  the  little  less  preferable  captivity,  were 
the  ghosts  of  every  household ;  and  the  man  who  had  a  family  to 
protect  and  provide  for,  could  relax  from  his  duties  only  to  turn  his 
mind  upon  the  terrible  fate  which  possibly,  nay,  probably,  awaited 
himself  and  his.  But  this  state  of  things  was  not  to  last  forever. 
It  was  only  a  question  of  time.  The  indomitable  white  man  was 
not  to  be  exterminated  by  a  race  so  untutored,  nor  his  spirit  sub- 
dued, nor  his  enterprise  long  checked,  nor  his  prospects  for  a  glo- 
rious career  blighted.  Not  he.  Facing  a  severe  climate,  fierce 
wild  beasts,  an  unsubdued  wilderness,  and  ferocious  and  implacable 
human  foes,  he  went  steadily  forward.  Slow  at  first,  to  be  sure,  but 
still  he  went  on,  until,  by  his  irresistible  energy,  he  penetrated  far- 
ther and  farther  into  the  depths  of  the  unexplored  wilds,  driving  his 
enemy  before  him,  until  at  length  his  foot  was  so  firmly  planted 
that  his  desperate  and  terrible  foe,  giving  up  the  contest  in  dismay 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TBIBUTARIES.  113 

•and  despair,  retired  beyond  the  reach  of  the  invader,  and  left  his 
birthright  and  his  soil  in  the  undisputed  possession  of  the  pale- 
face. 

The  wheel  of  fortune  is  ever  rolling,  and  he  who  stands  on  its 
topmost  segment  to-day  may  experience  a  revolution  so  sudden  and 
overwhelming,  that  he  is  crushed,  as  by  the  car  of  Juggernaut,  into 
the  dust  to-morrow.  So  it  was  with  the  doomed  race.  With  no 
idea  of  retributive  justice,  with  no  thought  of  the  possibility  of  re- 
verse, or  a  change  of  the  situation,  the  Indians  were  remorseless, 
sparing  neither  age,  sex,  or  condition ;  but  the  war-club,  the  kriife, 
tomahawk,  and  arrow,  the  conflagration,  torture,  and  the  dreaded 
captivity,  were  meted  out  unsparingly  whenever  opportunity  offered ; 
but  now  the  other  side  had  the  "innings,"  and  laid  themselves  out 
for  a  large  score  rather  than  for  fancy  playing.  Having  been 
trained  in  his  school  to  the  perpetration  of  barbarities,  cool  and 
deliberate,  the  white  man  tried  his  hand  at  articles  hardly  less 
savage  than  their  own.  A  price  was  set  upon  his  toplock  the  same 
as  on  the  wolf,  and  other  wild  animals,  only  much  higher,  and  the 
more  daring  and  venturesome  among  the  population  turned  their 
attention  to  the  hunting  and  scalping  of  Indians. 

Among  the  most  famous  of  these  was  Capt.  Lovewell,  of  Dun- 
stable,  who  repeatedly  followed  them  along  the  Merrimack  as  far  as 
this  lake,  and  even  penetrated  to  the  country  of  the  Pequaukets.  He 
freely  roamed  the  country  of  the  Winnipesaukees,  and  with  his 
valiant  band  traversed  the  entire  circumference,  and  crossed  and 
recrossed  the  known  territory  of  this  tribe  of  the  famous,  once  pow- 
erful, and  dreaded  Pennacooks.  Seeking  indemnity  for  the  past  and 
security  for  the  future,  they  traversed  the  wilds  of  New  Hampshire, 
making  this  lake  on  each  successive  scout,  as  here  was  the  most 
probable  place  to  pick  up  a  fresh  trail. 

That  Capt.  Lovewell,  who  explored  this  lake  country,  was  a 
bold,  energetic,  and  determined  man,  there  can  be  no  doubt,  but 
whether  his  skill  and  prudence  as  an  Indian  hunter  warrants  the 
famous  reputation  which  he  seems  to  have  left  behind,  is  quite 
another  question.  It  is  true  he  led  his  men  to  a  great  success  in 
the  capture  of  a  party  of  ten  Indians  in  what  is  now  the  town  of 
Wakefield,  annihilating  the  entire  band  ;  but  this  achievement  was 
not  accomplished  at  any  risk,  for  it  was  like  shooting  a  wolf  in 
15 


114  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

a  trap.  However,  taking  the  scalps,  stretching  them  on  hoops,  and 
elevating  them  on  poles,  they  marched  proudly  into  Boston,  and 
received  their  reward  in  pounds  and  shillings. 

The  great  success  of  this  party  inflamed  the  passion  for  adventure 
and  for  gain.  Many  believed,  after  the  result  of  this  expedition  be- 
came known,  that  the  Indians  had  lost  their  courage,  their  cunning, 
and  their  caution,  and  supposed  that  it  would  be  like  shooting  rabbits, 
only  more  profitable ;  and  reflecting  that  the  bounty  was,  all  things 
considered,  equal  to  the  profits  on  an  acre  of  corn,  besides  exchang- 
ing'labor  for  sport  and  recreation,  they  flocked  to  the  standard  of  the 
Indian-hunters  in  considerable  numbers.  On  his  second  expedition, 
Captain  Lovewell  seems  to  have  met  with  very  different  success. 
His  bravery,  and  that  of  his  men,  proves  that  he  could  stand  against 
overwhelming  odds;  but  it  seems  that  he  must  have  lacked  the 
essential  elements  of  success  in  a  contest  with  such  a  wary  and 
cunning  adversary,  —  prudence  and  caution. 

That  he  forfeited  his  life,  and  that  of  most  of  his  men,  does  not 
qualify  his  rashness,  or  want  of  reasonable  prudence.  All  it  proves 
is,  that,  taking  his  life  in  his  hand,  and  trusting  to  what  he  consid- 
ered his  qualifications,  he  was  willing  to  take  the  responsibility  of 
the  position.  He  risked  all,  and  lost  all.  However,  he  taught  the 
Indians  a  wholesome  lesson,  for  although  they  were  not  defeated  and 
routed,  still  they  received  a  punishment  so  severe  as  to  alarm  them 
for  their  security  anywhere  on  this  side  of  the  St.  Francis  country. 
Other  and  stronger  motives  to  be  sure  actuated  and  influenced  the 
inhabitants  in  their  exterminating  warfare  against  the  savages.  Few 
of  them  but  had  suffered  in  the  interruption  of  the  labors  absolutely 
necessary  for  the  sustenance  of  the  family,  and  very  many  had  been 
bereft  of  relatives  and  friends  under  the  most  atrocious  circum- 
stances, and,  feeling  as  a  man  whose  sheepfold  had  been  invaded  by 
ferocious  animals,  only  that  the  feeling  was  intensified  by  the  differ- 
ence between  the  loss  of  friends  and  property,  they  determined  the 
beast  should  be  hunted  down. 

Knowing,  by  sad  experience,  something  of  the  baser  character- 
istics of  the  savage,  it  may  not  be  improper  or  untruthful  to  observe, 
that  the  North  American  Indian  possesses,  and  often  displays,  in  his 
nobler  nature,  those  higher  excellences  and  sublime  qualities  which 
adorn  and  embellish  the  human  character.  Were  it  possible  to  re- 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS   TRIBUTARIES.  115 

duce  him  to  a  homogeneous  condition,  and  illuminate  the  dark 
recesses  of  his  soul  with  the  genial  and  germinating  rays  of  a 
Christian  light,  no  race  could  exhibit  the  elements  and  emotions 
of  such  a  condition  more  gratifying  than  he.  But  this  can  never 
be  accomplished.  He  can  be  hunted,  pushed,  exterminated,  but 
never  civilized.  It  is  repulsive  to  every  element  of  his  nature  and 
aspiration  of  his  soul.  Unlike  the  negro  he  can  never  be  enslaved, 
and,  also,  unlike  that  race,  he  displays  a  dignity  and  gravity  in  the 
height  of  prosperity,  or  the  extremity  of  adversity,  truly  refreshing 
and  worthy  of  imitation.  If  he  is  treacherous  and  cruel  to  his 
enemies,  he  is  true  and  kind  to  his  friends.  He  is  not  of  that  school 
who  think  that  a  good  turn  deserves  another ;  but  shows  that  he 
appreciates  it,  and  realizes  that  it  merits  a  return  ;  and  his  memory 
is  as  equally  retentive  of  a  favor  as  an  injury.  Neither  will  be  for- 
gotten. But  he  can  even  be  brought  to  overlook  injuries  when  he 
realizes  that  he  has  no  power  to  resent  them,  which  is  a  rule  with 
all  men.  That  he  really  possesses  this  trait  in  an  eminent  degree, 
Wonnalancet,  son  and  successor  of  Passaconaway,  is  a  conspicuous 
example.  Having  embraced  the  Christian  religion  under  the  teach- 
ings of  the  Apostle  Elliot,  this  noble  son  of  the  forest  endured 
abuse  and  ill-treatment  from  those  whose  faith  he  had  adopted,  that 
might  have  led  more  considerate  people  than  unlettered  savages  to 
doubt  the  sincerity,  value,  or  importance  of  such  professions ;  still, 
with  his  mind  imbued  with  the  true  spirit  of  Christianity,  never 
wavering,  he  endured  all,  suffered  all;  and,  though  recently  re- 
deemed from  paganism,  his  example  was  such  as  the  enlightened 
might  profit  by  imitating. 

Even  in  the  darkness  of  barbarism,  in  the  gloom  of  unmitigated 
ignorance,  the  Indian  recognized  an  overruling  Providence ;  and 
for  success  in  the  chase,  on  the  war-path,  or  fishing,  for  bountiful 
harvests  of  maize  and  vegetables,  for  all  the  good  received,  he  never 
failed  to  offer  up  to  the  Great  Spirit  his  grateful  acknowledgments ; 
perhaps  too  demonstrative  to  suit  the  tastes  of  delicate  and  polished 
Christians,  but  it  was  his  way,  and  who  shall  say  it  was  not  as 
acceptable  as  the  most  studied  and  eloquent  prayer  ?  Having  been 
educated  by  his  surroundings,  he  was  entirely  a  child  of  nature,  and 
as  such,  his  appreciation  and  enjoyment  of  the  sublime  and  beauti- 
ful, which  was  his  gospel,  would  compare  favorably  with  more  for 
tunate  mortals. 


116  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

His  favorite  haunts  were  about  the  high  towering  mountains,  by 
the  beautiful  waterfall,  along  the  bright  rolling  river,  or  the  great 
lake  whose  placid  bosom  mirrored  the  celestial  hunting-ground  of  his 
immortality. 

Here,  and  from  scenes  like  these,  he  drew  his  inspiration,  and 
the  instinctive  generosity  and  nobility  of  his  impulses  proves  con- 
clusively that  he  was  susceptible  to,  and  had  profited  by,  the  lessons 
spread  out  before  him  on  these  pages  of  the  great  book  of  Nature. 
Such  was  the  natural  Indian.  True,  he  could  never  be  a  Caucas- 
ian. Still,  except  for  the  demoralizing  contact  of  civilization,  for 
the  wrongs  and  crimes  perpetrated  upon  him,  for  the  bad  examples 
placed  before  him,  and  for  unjustly  seizing  and  occupying  his  terri- 
tory, compelling  him  to  quitclaim  the  land  of  his  birth  and  the 
graves  of  his  fathers,  or  die  in  the  attempt  to  maintain  his  right,  — 
had  it  not  been  for  practices  such  as  these,  the  red  man  would  not 
have  been  the  treacherous,  cruel,  revengeful  fiend  of  our  ideal  Ind- 
ian, but  might  have  stood  forth,  a  character,  native  and  untrained, 
displaying  qualifications  which  it  would  have  honored  more  pretend- 
ing men  to  copy. 

The  great,  numerous,  and  powerful  Pennacooks,  where  are  they  ? 
Two  hundred  years  have  effaced  every  vestige  of  the  race ;  they  are 
rubbed  out  like  a  chalk  mark  on  a  black-board  ;  every  trace  of  the 
blood  is  obliterated ;  no  scion  remains ;  they  have  withered  as  the 
grass  beneath  the  pavement,  and  the  places  that  knew  them  once 
shall  know  them  no  more  forever.  The  few  fragile  and  broken 
remnants  of  the  race,  dispirited,  and  dimly  realizing  their  ultimate 
doom,  long  since  turned  their  backs  on  old  familiar  scenes,  on  the 
conqueror,  and  their  faces  to  the  setting  sun,  where  year  by  year 
his  domain  is  curtailed,  and  himself  more  closely  environed,  until, 
at  no  very  distant  day,  he  will  be  totally  and  finally  obliterated  from 
the  face  of  this  broad  land,  and  become  as  much  of  a  myth  or  tra- 
dition, as  the  centaur,  the  mastodon,  or  the  sphynx. 

To  the  north  and  east  of  Lake  Winnipesaukee  the  view  is  grand 
beyond  description.  Almost  from  the  lake  shore  the  mountains 
rise  high  and  still  higher,  not  in  regular  range  or  column,  but  scat- 
tered promiscuously  around,  the  picket  of  the  main  body  of  great 
mountains  behind  them. 

Centre  Harbor  at  the  head  of  the  lake  is  the  objective  point  of 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TBIBUTABIES.  117 

several  lines  of  mountain  travel,  radiating  from  Boston  and  concen- 
trating here,  it  being  the  starting-point  for  all  the  stages  from  the 
lake  to  the  mountain  region. 

During  the  summer  the  tide  of  mountain  travel  is  at  its  flood  on 
this  route,  and  it  is  estimated  that  from  one  thousand  to  twelve  hun- 
dred per  week  are  carried  both  ways  in  stages. 

Attracted  by  the  famed  and  romantic  beauty  of  the  scenery  along 
this  r9ute,  the  tourist  and  comfort  seeker,  who  possess  a  taste  for  the 
grand  and  beautiful  in  nature,  will  not  fail  to  either  go  or  return  by 
this  route,  and  thus  feast  their  higher  sense  on  the  gorgeous  pano- 
rama that  stretches  from  the  foot  of  the  lake  to  the  summit  of  Mount 
Washington.  Though  sometimes  encompassed  by  heat,  dust,  and 
discomfort,  the  compensation  is  ample,  the  satisfaction  complete. 

Centre  Harbor  is  widely  known  as  a  summer  resort.  Travellers 
reach  this  place,  from  New  York,  via  Sound,  Norwich,  Worcester, 
Nashua,  Concord,  and  the  Weirs.  From  this  point,  a  short  steam- 
boat ride,  unequalled  for  the  variety  and  splendor  of  natural  scenery, 
and  Centre  Harbor  is  reached.  From  Boston,  via  Lowell,  Law- 
rence, Concord,  and  the  Weirs,  or  Portsmouth,  Dover,  Cochecho 
Uailroad,  to  Alton  Bay;  thence,  by  steamboat,  to  Wolfboro'  and 
Centre  Harbor.  The  stage  road  is  wonderfully  level  a  large  share 
of  the  way ;  still  there  are  some  sharp  hills  which  tax  the  team  and 
tire  the  passengers,  but  cool,  refreshing  zephyrs  fan  the  cheek,  and 
the  mind  is  so  engrossed  with  the  wild  and  remarkable  scenery,  that 
the  journey  is  robbed  of  all  toil,  and  is  regarded  as  a  delightful 
excursion.  The  route  lies  through  Moultonborough,  around  the 
immediate  base  of  Red  Hill,  —  so  called,  from  its  appearance  at  a 
distance. 

On  the  south  side  of  Ossipee  Mountain,  which  extends  into  this 
town,  there  is  a  cool  and  copious  spring,  impregnated  with  sulphur 
and  iron.  Near  the  summit  of  the  mountain  is  a  remarkable  spring, 
fifteen  feet  in  diameter,  which  emits  a  dozen  jets  of  water  to  the 
height  of  two  feet,  containing  small  quantities  of  fine  white  sand, 
and  discharges  a  considerable  brook ;  receiving  many  tributaries,  if 
becomes,  in  the  course  of  a  mile  and  a  half,  a  foaming  mountain 
torrent.  At  that  distance  from  the  spring,  and  not  far  from  Sulphur 
Spring,  it  breaks  into  a  broad  and  furious  cascade  for  fifty  feet,  then 
takes  a  perpendicular  plunge  of  seventy  feet. 


118  THE  MEREIMACK  EIVEE; 

Ossipee  Falls  are  magnificently  grand  of  themselves,  and  pictur- 
esque in  all  their  surroundings,  and  it  is  believed  that  a  summer  hotel 
would  be  accommodating  and  remunerating.  Near  these  falls  there 
is  a  cave,  where  charred  wood  and  other  indications  of  its  once  having 
been  a  resort  for  Indians  have  been  found.  In  1817,  a  huge  skele- 
ton of  a  man,  supposed  to  be  seven  feet  high,  or  more,  was  found 
buried  in  the  sand.  In  1820,  on  a  small  island  in  the  lake,  a  rusty 
and  ruined  gun-barrel,  of  peculiar  workmanship,  was  found  em- 
bedded in  a  pine-tree  sixteen  inches  in  diameter.  The  Ossipee  Ind- 
ians lived  about  this  region,  and  there  is,  or  was  recently,  a  tree  on 
which  was  carved  the  records  of  the  tribe. 

"  Red  Hill,  on  the  north-west  side  of  the  lake,  is  perhaps  the 
very  best  position  from  which  to  obtain  a  view  of  the  lake  and  its 
surroundings.  This  hill,  situated  near  the  lake,  rises  abruptly  two 
thousand  feet,  with  nothing  to  obstruct  the  view. 

"  Scarcely  a  stone's  throw  from  the  summit  is  the  little  Lake 
Squam,  its  waters  clear  as  crystal,  and  sprinkled  with  green  islands, 
—  some  of  them  no  wider  than  a  small  grass-plot,  —  some  spreading 
out  into  fields  and  pastures,  with  hills  that  send  forth  many  a  rivu- 
let into  the  bosom  of  the  lake.  Ascending  towards  the  summit  of 
the  mountain,  the  trees,  unlike  those  on  the  White  Mountains,  which 
are  gnarled  and  stunted,  appear  slender  and  graceful,  and  seem  to 
stand  for  ornament  am'dst  the  blueberry  and  sweet  fern,  which  bear 
their  fruit  and  fragrance  almost  to  the  mountain's  top.  For  weeks, 
the  traveller  may  daily  and  hourly  discover  new  attraction  in  these 
sweet  abodes  of  nature.  To-day,  a  clear  atmosphere  presents  every- 
thing in  the  brightest  hues  and  charms  the  mind  with  the  distinct- 
ness of  every  object.  To-morrow,  a  change  of  atmosphere  lends  to 
everything  a  change  of  hue,  and  flings  over  all  a  new  enchantment. 

"  Nothing  can  exceed  the  splendor  of  sunrise  on  this  mountain  in 
a  calm  summer's  morning.  The  stillness  of  the  place ;  the  placid 
serenity  of  the  waters ;  the  varying  positions  of  objects,  as  the 
morning  mists  rise,  and  change,  and  pass  away  before  the  sun,  now 
brooding  low  on  the  waters,  now  sailing  slowly  over  the  islands,  and 
wreathed  in  ever-varied  forms  around  their  green  promontories,  — 
these  and  other  features  present  to  the  mind  a  landscape  abounding 
in  that  wild  beauty  which  exists  where  art  has  not  usurped  dominion 
over  nature. 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  119 

"Here,  some  bright  basin  is  seen  to  gleam,  and  anon  the  eye 
catches  some  'islet  half  veiled  in  mist,  and  reddening  with  the  first 
blush  of  morning.  Sometimes,  by  a  pleasing  delusion,  the  clouds 
become  stationary,  and  the  island  itself  appears  to  move,  and  to  be 
slowly  receding  from  the  veil  of  mist.  The  eye  dwells  with  delight 
on  the  villages  of  the  wide  country,  and  the  hundreds  of  farms  and 
orchards  which  adorn  the  whole  extent  of  the  landscape. 

''  The  fertile  islands  of  the  lake  are  scattered,  as  if  to  delight  the 
eye ;  and  when  clothed  in  the  deep  green  of  summer,  or  waving 
with  luxuriant  harvests,  they  seem  like  floating  gardens,  immersed 
in  the  water.  The  hills  and  woods,  the  shores  and  eddies,  the  coves 
and  green  recesses,  the  farms  and  houses,  sometimes  retiring 
from  the  waters,  sometimes  approaching  to  the  margin  of  the  lake, 
—  all  form  a  picture  formed  for  the  lover  of  nature  to  linger  and 
dwell  upon  with  varied  and  ever  new  delight.  The  course  of  the 
lake  winds  at  last,  and  is  lost  among  the  distant  mountains."  * 

It  is  no  discredit  to  any  author  to  observe  that  the  sketch  is  in- 
complete. He  who  has  the  deepest  sense  of  the  grand  and  the 
beautiful  in  nature's  wonderful  perfection,  must  realize  most  sensibly 
the  inadequacy  and  imperfection  of  mere  words  to  portray  the 
picture  properly. 

.  The  true  course  is  to  visit,  personally,  this  delightful  region.  Im- 
proved health  will  compensate  the  cost,  and  a  lavish  and  boundless 
display  of  nature's  wealth  will  delight  the  eye,  and  deeply  interest 
and  charm  the  mind. 

Sandwich,  the  next  town,  is  very  mountainous.  Sandwich 
Mountains,  a  lofty  range,  beginning  in  Holderness,  extend  into 
Waterville,  thence  south,  Chocorua  Peak,  in  Albany,  being  their 
termination,  forming  two  sides  of  a  square. 

Bearcamp  River  has  its  source  in  these  mountains.  Hon.  John 
Wentworth,  familiarly  known  as  "  long  John  Wentworth,"  was  a 
native  of  Sandwich. 

On  the  summit  of  a  hill,  only  forty  or  fifty  yards  in  height,  and 
about  the  same  distance  from  the  stage  road,  is  a  very  noticeable 
natural  curiosity,  which  is  known  as  the  Lion  Rock.  This  rock 
attracts  the  notice  of  even  the  most  careless  observer,  while  those 
who  journey  to  the  mountains  for  what  they  can  see,  and  are  sure 

*  Barstow. 


120  THE  MEREIMACK  RIVER; 

to  bestow  attention  on  nearly  everything  that  is  visible,  never  fail  to 
greet  this  singular  curiosity  with  exclamations  of  surprise.  This 
rock  is  so  formed  and  poised  that  it  presents  a  striking  resemblance 
to  a  lion,  passive.  The  features,  the  large  head,  neck,  heavy 
shoulders,  the  natural  curves  and  outlines  of  the  body  are  readily 
traced.  Of  the  wonderful  natural  scenery  of  northern  New  Hamp- 
shire, this  rock  is  a  marked  feature,  and  is  justly  entitled  to  a  place 
in  the  famous  group  located  in  this  region. 

Ossipee  Mountain,  which  towers  high  on  the  right,  has  given  ita 
name  to  a  powerful  gunboat  in  the  U.  S.  Navy. 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  121 


CHAPTER    V. 

Tamworth.  —  Quakers.  —  Albany.  —  Chocorua.  —  Madison.  —  Mines.  —  Conway.  —  The 
Notch.  —  The  Willey  Family.  —  White  Mountain  Railroad. 

TAMWORTH  is  a  most  decidedly  uneven  township,  surrounded  by 
high  mountains.  Its  people  are  industrious,  enterprising,  and  thrifty. 
Apparently  hemmed  in  by  impassable  barriers  on  all  sides,  the 
traveller,  on  reaching  here,  composes  himself  for  a  period  of  quiet, 
rational,  and  genuine  enjoyment  among  the  hospitable  and  intelligent 
people  with  a  certainty  of  success.  Or,  if  he  is  so  unfortunate  as  to 
be  destitute  of  taste  for  the  wonders  and  beauties  of  nature,  he 
involuntarily  casts  about  him  to  ascertain  if  there  is  any  possibility 
of  escape  from  this  "  pent-up  TJtica." 

This  town  was  chartered  in  1766,  and  settled  in  1771,  by  four 
families,  —  David  Philbrick,  Jonathan  Choate,  Richard  Jacknian, 
and  William  Eastman. 

Tamworth  Iron  Works  went  into  operation  previous  to  1800. 
The  enterprise  was  started  by  a  Mr.  Blaisdell.  Bog-iron  ore,  taken 
from  Ossipee  Lake,  was  used,  and  cut  nails,  anchors,  and  other  heavy 
articles  were  made.  It  is  supposed  the  nails  made  here  were  the 
first  that  were  cut  and  headed  by  machinery  in  the  country.  These 
works  soon  came  into  the  hands  of  Mr.  Nathaniel  Weed,  a  man  of 
great  ingenuity,  and  who,  among  other  things,  made  a  screw-auger, 
which  was  said  to  have  been  the  first  implement  of  the  kind  ever 
invented.  Not  realizing  the  vast  wealth  which  he  could  have  secured 
by  a  patent,  he  was  content  with  the  perfection  of  his  essay.  When 
the  Piscataqua  Bridge  was  built,  Mr.  Weed  and  many  other  artisans 
were  employed ;  taking  with  him  his  auger,  he  proved  a  very  impor 
tant  personage  ;  the  old  fashioned  pod-auger  was  dispensed  with,  and 
relays  of  hands  were  appointed,  whose  business  it  was  to  keep  the 
Weed-auger  in  perpetual  motion. 

Iron  manufacture  was  here  long  since  abandoned,  but  mills  foi 

16 


122  THE  MEEKIMACK  EIVEE; 

various  purposes  still  occupy  the  site  which  is  on  the  outlet  of 
Chocorua  Lake,  —  a  beautiful  sheet  of  water  at  the  base  of  the  nioun 
tain  of  the  same  name. 

That  the  pure  mountain  air,  homely  fare,  and  regular  habits  are 
conducive  to  longevity  may  be  said  to  be  demonstrated  by  the  case 
of  a  life-long  resident  of  Tamworth,  Mr.  Stephen  G.  Philbrick,  who 
was  born  in  Brentwood  in  1771,  and  came  to  this  town  to  reside  the 
following  year.  At  that  time  there  were  but  four  families;  the 
country  was  a  wilderness  filled  with  catamounts,  moose,  deer,  bears, 
wolves,  etc.  • 

At  twenty-three  years  of  age  Mr.  Philbrick  went  to  Exeter  and 
worked  four  years  at  five  dollars  per  month,  and  one  year  at  six 
dollars  per  month.  At  twenty-seven  he  married  Ruth  Rowe,  of 
Kensington,  who  met  with  a  fatal  accident  in  1850,  being  upwards  of 
eighty  years  of  age.  He  has  always  lived  under  the  shadow  of  Old 
Chocorua,  and  has  never  been  sick  since  childhood. 

On  visiting  him,  Oct.  11,  1868,  he  was  found  husking  corn  in  his 
barn,  which  he  said  he  much  preferred  to  idleness.  His  mind  and 
frame  still  continue  to  be  wonderfully  robust,  and  all  of  his  faculties 
are  in  an  excellent  state  of  preservation.  He  had  walked  a  mile  to 
the  neighbors  that  morning  previous  to  commencing  his  day's  work, 
which  was  to  husk  eight  or  ten  bushels  of  corn,  as  that  amount,  he 
"reckoned,"  was  "  half  a  man's  work." 

On  being  interrogated  as  to  the  probable  reason  of  his  exemption 
from  sickness,  he  declared  he  had  never  been  ambitious  to  overwork 
or  of  erplay ;  that  he  had  been  a  moderate  and  industrious  rather  than 
a  great  or  spasmodic  worker. 

Mr.  Philbrick  was  present  at  the  ordination  of  Mr.  Hidden,  being 
at  that  time  above  his  majority,  and  was  also  one  of  the  last  surviv- 
ing four  who  were  present  at  the  erection  of  the  monument  on  Ordi- 
nation Rock,  and  is  the  last  survivor  of  that  venerable  quartette. 
He  voted  for  General  Washington  for  President,  and  has  voted  at 
every  presidential  election  since.  His  two  youngest  brothers  died 
in  the  war  of  1812,  and  his  youngest  child  is  approaching  the  allotted 
threescore  years  and  ten. 

Perhaps  the  most  pleasant  portion  of  the  chronicle  of  this  relic  of 
the  past  is  his  unswerving  and  inflexible  honesty.  Though  never  a 
member  of  any  church,  his  life  has  been  a  pattern  of  morality  and 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  123 

uprightness,  and  it  is  said  that  a  search-warrant  could  not  produce  a 
single  dishonest  act  in  the  whole  course  of  his  life. 

Col.  David  Gilman  of  Revolutionary  fame  was  from  Tamworth. 
During  the  period  of  his  service  he  was  attached  to  the  select  military 
/amily  of  Washington.  He  was  a  man  of  gigantic  stature,  over  six 
and  a  half  feet  high,  of  superior  intellectual  endowments,  dignified 
bearing,  and  thorough  military  air.  Having  been  selected  by  Wash- 
ington as  one  of  his  most  efficient  and  reliable  officers,  and  despatched  on 
a  hazardous  and  important  mission,  he  met  with  a  serious  and  painful 
accident,  which  obliged  him  to  quit  the  service.  Washington  wrote  him 
an  autograph  letter,  accepting  his  resignation  with  deep  regret,  and  as 
a  token  of  his  high  esteem  for  him  as  a  "soldier,  a  man,  and  a  gentle- 
man," the  cominander-in-chief  presented  him  with  his  own  sword,  a 
fine  weapon  with  solid  silver  hilt.  Col.  Gilman  returned  to  Tam- 
worth, and,  recovering  from  his  injuries,  lived  to  a  very  advanced 
age. 

The  larger  kinds  of  wild  animals,  such  as  bears  and  deer,  still 
abound  in  Tamworth,  some  twenty  or  more  of  the  former  being  taken 
yearly.  On  the  tenth  of  September  last  a  huge  bear  was  taken  west 
of  the  residence  of  Mr.  Robert  B.  Felch,  which  weighed  nearly  five 
hundred  pounds,  and  the  rough  tallow  yielded  six  gallons  of  rendered 
bear's  oil.  Prior  to  1840,  wolves  were  plenty  and  troublesome,  and 
on  one  occasion  the  citizens  turned  out  and  killed  five  in  a  single 
day,  since  which  time  they  have  not  shown  themselves  until  the 
present  autumn. 

This  town  being  mountainous,  furnishes  many  fine  trout  brooks,  the 
most  famous  being  widely  known  as  Birch  Interval  Brook,  an  affluent 
of  the  Bearcamp.  Its  source  is  three  thousand  feet  above  the  river ; 
its  length  about  fifteen  miles,  and  it  is  estimated  that  one  hundred 
bushels  of  trout  have  been  taken  from  it  the  present  season.  This 
brook  is  large,  cold,  and  transparent,  and  has  many  fine  waterfalls, 
on  one  of  which  the  village  is  located. 

The  Sandwich  Mountains  traverse  the  north  and  east  border  of  the 
town  into  the  adjoining  one  of  Albany,  where  they  terminate  in  the 
grim  and  sullen  peak  whose  angular  and  rugged  summit,  destitute 
alike  of  soil  and  vegetation,  scarred  and  seamed  by  time  and  the 
elements,  is  called  Chocorua.  This  craggy  and  barren  pinnacle,  the 
throne  of  the  thunders,  the  play-ground  of  the  whispering  genii  of 


124  THE  MEItRIMACE  RIVER; 

the  winds,  whose  good  spirits  sigh  mournfully  through  the  firs  and 
spruces  which  grow  so  thick  in  sombre  green  around  its  base,  or  howl 
and  roar  about  the  rocky  caverns  and  naked  angles  above  the  line  of 
vegetation,  where  among  the  inacessible  cliffs  the  great  bald  eagle 
has  his  eyrie,  rearing  its  rude  crown  above  the  storm-cloud,  stands 
forth  conspicuous  from  the  region  round,  a  solitary  realm  of  desola- 
tion. 

Inaccessible  to  even  the  most  secret  and  retiring  wild  beasts  which 
shun  the  haunts  of  man  for  the  unbroken  solitude  of  the  wilderness, 
the  eagle  rears  its  young,  maintaining  unimpaired  his  "  ancient  soli- 
tary reign." 

Athletic  men  may  climb  Chocorua  ;  still  it  requires  dexterity  and 
daring,  and  a  scramble  to  its  summit  involves  danger  and  fatigue. 
Reaching  a  shelving  rock  or  projecting  angle,  and  gaining  by  this 
process  a  little  higher  footing,  or  seizing  a  slender,  'dwarfed,  and 
doubtful  sapling  more  than  liable  to  be  uprooted,  taking  with  it  the 
thin  strata  of  soil  upon  its  root,  is  no  holiday  task. 

Leave  the  dogs  at  home ;  they  cannot  follow  up,  but  must  be  passed 
from  hand  to  hand,  or  left  behind. 

The  tribe  of  the  Pequauket  had  their  home  about  the  base  of  old 
Chocorua,  —  their  hunting  and  fishing  grounds  being  the  unlimited 
forest  that  stretched  away  to  the  north,  and  the  Saco  and  its  tribu- 
taries which  meandered  through  it ;  standing,  as  it  did,  on  the  great 
thoroughfare  between  the  Pennacooks  and  the  Amariscoggins,  it  was 
a  beacon  and  a  guide  visible  from  afar,  even  to  that  other  trail 
away  to  the  west  beyond  the  Pemigewasset  which  led  to  the  head- 
waters of  the  Connecticut  and  to  the  St.  Francis.  Wild  and 
solemn  in  its  annals  and  aspects,  it  may  not  be  strange  that  so 
fitting  a  locality  should  be  prolific  of  legends  which  still  cluster 
around  it. 

On  an  elevated  and  fertile  ridge  called  "Stevenson  Hill,"  in  the 
western  part  of  the  town,  and  some  six  hundred  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  Bearcamp,  stands  the  residence  of  John  M.  .Stevenson,  Esq., 
which  is  visible  at  a  great  distance.  Mr.  Stevenson  is  one  .of  those 
men  who  contribute  most  liberally  to  the  character  and  prosperity 
of  a  town,  —  public  spirited,  liberal,  and  intelligent,  carefully  sur- 
veying and  securing  its  present  wants,  as  well  as  its  prospective  in- 
terests. His  parents  were  the  first  couple  married  by  the  Rev.  Mr, 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS   TRIBUTARIES.  125 

Hidden,  consequently  his  years,  his  sympathy,  and  his  interests  are 
intimately  connected  with  its  welfare. 

He  is  a  living  encyclopaedia  of  local  and  general  historic  events ; 
and,  being  possessed  of  ample  means,  leisure,  and  refined  tastes,  his 
house  is  thronged  by  the  educated,  and,  indeed,  all  who  are  favored 
with  his  acquaintance,  and  nothing  gives  him  more  pleasure  than  to 
furnish  conveyances  and  accompany  his  friends  to  all  points  of  inter- 
est in  this  section. 

In  this  secluded,  quiet  town  there  is  an  excellent  illustration  of 
the  affection  and  veneration  which  communities  have  for  good  men 
among  them,  and  the  unobtrusive  posthumous  respect  paid  to  their 
memory.  The  good,  the  wise,  and  the  brave  are  not  forgotten,  and 
in  all  parts  of  the  State  the  hand  of  respect  and  gratitude  for  their 
worthy  deeds  and  lives  raises  the  tablet,  unobtrusive  perhaps,  to  per- 
petuate their  memory. 

Samuel  Hidden  was  ordained  here  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel  Sep- 
tember 12th,  1792.  It  being  a  new  town,  the  people  were  few  and 
poor.  The  country  was  little  less  than  a  wilderness,  and  the  people 
were  destitute  of  a  church,  or  the  means  of  erecting  one.  Under 
these  unpropitious  circumstances  Mr.  Hidden' s  ardor  was  not  cooled; 
his  courage  was  unabated,  and  his  determination  to  prosecute  the 
good  work  unshaken. 

He  was  ordained  on  a  large  rock  seventeen  feet  high,  with  an  area 
sufficient  to  accommodate  seventy  persons  on  a  level  surface,  which 
was  reached  by  a  flight  of  seventeen  stone  steps.  On  this  modern 
St.  Peter  his  church  was  built,  — a  sure  and  firm  foundation;  Ordi- 
nation Rock  typifying  the  solid,  substantial,  and  weighty  measure  of 
his  faith,  and  symbolizing  the  enduring  character  of  his  faithful, 
efficient,  and  protracted  labors.  Desiring  to  secure  a  substantial 
testimonial  to  his  great  worth,  to  obtain  a  visible  memento  of  his 
self-sacrificing  devotion  to  the  cause  he  labored  so  long  and  so  ear- 
nestly to  advance,  a  voluntary  subscription  was  raised,  to  which  some 
of  those  who  had  long  sat  under  his  faithful  ministry  were  spared 
to\contribute,  as  well  as  others  to  whom  his  name  and  works  were 
household  words,  and  a  sum  was  raised  sufficient  to  purchase  the 
Izmd  on  which  this  rock  stands. 

On  the  12th  of  September,  1862,  a  monument  was  erected  upon 
this  rock,  appropriately  inscribed,  by  a  grandson  bearing  his  name. 


126  THE  MERRIMACK  J1IVEK; 

The  ceremony  of  erecting  and  dedicating  the  Hidden  monument  was 
interesting  and  impressive.  The  address,  which  was  eloquent  arid 
appropriate,  was  delivered  by  E.  E.  Adams.  Four  of  the  residents 
of  the  town  participated  in  these  ceremonies  who  had,  seventy  years 
before,  been  present  at  the  ordination  of  Mr.  Hidden.  The  follow- 
ing extract  from  a  letter  written  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Coe,  of  Durham, 
who  was  present  at  the  ordination  of  Mr.  Hidden,  is  very  interest- 
ing :— 

.  .  .  "  I  will  tell  you  about  the  ordination,  and  yet  I  know 
not  where  to  begin  or  what  to  say ;  it  defies  description.  Mr.  Hid- 
den was  ordained  on  a  large  rock,  on  which  fifty  men  might  stand. 
His  foundation  must  be  secure  and  solid,  for  the  rock  will  stand  till 
Gabriel  shall  divide  it  with  the  power  of  God.  Early  in  the  morn- 
ing the  people  assembled  around  this  rock,  men,  women,  boys,  and 
girls,  together  with  dogs  and  other  domestic  animals.  It  is  an  entire 
forest  about  this  place.  The  scenery  is  wild.  On  the  north  is  a  high 
hill,  and  north  of  this  is  the  mountain  called  Chocorua,  which  touches 
heaven.  On  the  south  and  in  all  directions  are  mountains  steep 
and  rugged.  I  expected  to  have  heard  the  howling  of  the  wolf  and 
the  screeching  of  the  owl;  but  instead  of  these  were  heard  the  melt- 
ing notes  of  the  robin,  and  the  chirping  of  the  sparrow  and  other 
birds,  that  made  the  forest  seem  like  paradise.  The  men  looked 
happy,  rugged,  and  fearless ;  their  trowsers  came  down  about  half 
way  between  the  knee  and  ankle ;  their  coats  were  mostly  short,  and 
of  nameless  shapes.  Many  wore  slouched  hats,  and  hundreds  were 
shoeless.  The  women  looked  ruddy,  and  as  though  they  loved  their 
husbands.  Their  clothing  was  all  of  domestic  manufacture.  Every 
woman  had  on  a  clean  checkered  linen  apron,  and  carried  a  clean 
linen  handkerchief.  Their  bonnets  !  Well,  I  cannot  describe  them; 
I  leave  them  to  your  imagination.  But  think  of  the  grandeur  of 
the  scene !  A  great  rock  the  pulpit,  the  whole  town  the  floor  of  the 
house,  the  canopy  of  heaven  the  roof,  and  the  tall,  sturdy  trees  the 
walls  !  Who  could  help  being  devoted  ? 

"  This  is  the.  place  nature  has  formed  for  pure  worship.  Long 
shall  this  rock  stand  like  the  rock  on  which  our  fathers  landed. 
Long  may  this  church  make  the  wilderness  and  the  solitary  place 
glad,  and  the  desert  bloom  as  the  rose. 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  127 

'"Father,  thy  hand 

Hath  reared  these  venerable  columns ;  thou 
Didst  weave  this  verdant  roof.    Thou  didst  look  down 
Upon  the  naked  earth,  and  forthwith  rose 
All  these  fair  ranks  of  trees.    They  in  thy  sun 
Budded  and  shook  their  green  leaves  in  thy  breeze 
And  shot  towards  heaven.    They  stand  tall  and  dark, 
Fit  shriue  for  humble  worshipper  to  hold 
Communion  with  his  Maker.' " 

Scattered  over  Tamworth  and  the  adjoining  town  of  Sandwich  are 
considerable  numbers  of  a  peculiar  and  remarkable  sect  of  Christians, 
called  Friends  or  Quakers,  who  have  two  meeting-houses,  and  main- 
tain regular  public  religious  worship.  Among  the  earliest  Friends 
who  settled  in  Tamworth  was  Mr.  Parker  Felch  and  family,  who 
came  here  in  1800,  and  whose  descendants  are  still  among  the  most 
faithful  and  zealous  of  the  Quaker  sect,  earnestly  maintaining  the 
forms  and  the  ancient  faith,  and  proving  by  their  daily  walk  and 
conversation  that  its  requirements  and  its  natural  tendency  is  to  that 
approved  kind  of  genuine  Christianity  which  is  creditable  to  the  pro- 
fessor and  advantageous  to  the  community,  and  refreshing  to  con- 
template in  these  degenerate  days. 

This  peculiar  and  interesting  denomination  of  Christians  may  be 
entitled  to  a  brief  notice,  as  their  practice  seems  an  exemplification 
of  the  moral  law  and  the  faith  that  is  in  them,  as  well  as  a  sim- 
plification, if  not  improvement,  of  the  freedom,  protection  and 
restraint  sought  to  be  accorded  and  secured  by  legal  human  gov- 
ernment. 

Quakers  are  sometimes  liable  to  be  confounded  with  Shakers, 
whom  they  are  totally  unlike,  except  in  the  plainness  and  simplicity 
of  demeanor,  language,  and  dress,  and  in  the  peaceable  precepts  of 
their  creed.  Like  most  other  sects  they  countenance,  encourage,  and 
believe  in  the  sacred  character  of  the  marriage  and  family  relations, 
in  peaceable,  honest,  and  efficient  civil  government,  trade,  business, 
accumulating  and  devising  property,  and  all  which  a  good  citizen 
may  do  without  detriment  to  the  State  or  injury  to  his  fellow-man. 
Persistent  and  unwavering  in  adhesion  to  thqjr  faith  and  practice, 
they  have  clung  to  it  with  a  tenacity  which  shows  the  depth  of  their 
conviction.  They  have  unflinchingly  withstood  the  wild  and  furious 
tempests  of  religious  fanaticism  and  intolerance  which  have  from 


128  THE  MERRINACK  RIVER; 

time  to  time  swept  over  them,  threatening  to  obliterate  the  Friend 
and  his  faith  together. 

Stoutly  maintaining  the  principle  of  religious  liberty,  and  steadily 
and  boldly,  without  fear  or  favor,  displaying  those  outward  and  visi- 
ble emblems  by  which,  if  in  no  other  manner,  they  may  be  known 
and  recognized  of  men ;  never  propagandists,  and  singularly  unat- 
tractive and  unfashionable  in  personal  adornments,  in  their  mode 
and  places  of  religious  worship,  and  in  the  austerity  of  their  moral 
requirements,  their  theory  has  never  been  popular  or  their  increase 
rapid;  their  proselytes  springing  from  the  seed  always  sown  by 
persecution  and  violent  and  unreasoning  denunciation  rather  than 
from  spontaneous  attraction  of  the  faith  or  the  forms.  Their  theory 
seems  to  be  a  combination  of  civil  and  religious  government,  a  har- 
monious blending  of  Church  and  State,  practical,  economical,  and 
efficient.  They  do  not  believe  in  a  hireling  ministry ;  logically  con- 
cluding, that  if  inspired  with  power  they  will  also  be  with  the  duty, 
as  was  the  Saviour,  to  preach  from  the  highways  and  byways  and 
hill-tops  without  money  and  without  price. 

Litigation  among  the  members  meets  with  unqualified  disapproba- 
tion, it  being  engaged  in  on  pain  of  excommunication.  Thus  it  will 
be  seen  that  lawyers  and  ministers  among  the  Quakers  raise  cattle 
and  potatoes,  or  engage  in  some  other  productive  employment.  -Pe- 
remptory regulations  and  provisions  against  the  employment  of  paid 
preachers  they  regard  as  not  only  a  moral  improvement,  but  a  bril- 
liant stroke  of  policy,  obviating  the  necessity  of  harboring  and 
maintaining  a  big  devil  in  their  community,  or  employing  persons  at 
large  salaries  to  battle  him. 

"  Our  ancient  testimony  against  an  hireling  ministry,  or  any  con- 
tributions to  the  maintenance  and  support  thereof,  being  founded  on 
examples  and  precepts  of  our  Lord  and  his  primitive  followers  and 
disciples ;  it  is  the  sense  of  this  meeting  that  friends  be  careful  to 
support  the  same,  by  a  faithful  testimony  against  contributing  towards 
their  salaries  by  tax  or  otherwise,  and  against  the  building  or  repair- 
ing their  meeting-houses. 

"  Also  this  meeting  doth  advise  that  if  any  person  professing  the 
truth  among  us  and  esteemed  a  Friend,  shall  refuse  speedily  to  adjust 
the  difference,  or  refer  it  as  before  advised  to  (arbitration),  complaint 
be  made  of  that  person  or  persons  unto  the  monthly  meeting  to  which 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  129 

they  doth  belong,  and  if  after  admonition  he  shall  refuse  so  to  refer 

his  case,  that  then  the  meeting  do  testify  against  such  person,  and 

~~mr  society  until  he  shall  comply  with  the  equal 

^v    "ts  of  our  society,  and  by  such,  his  compliance 

"X  '    for  peace,  and  doth  seek  and  desire  it. 

30ple,  looked  upon  ourselves   as  well  as  the 
^      be  included  in  the  notable  prophecy  of  Isaiah 
iat  their  swords  into  ploughshares,  and  their 

^joks,  and  learn  to  war  no  more.'  "  * 

u      •  f 

war  or  bearing  arms  tor  any  purpose  is  repu- 

'  and,  as  consistency  is  claimed  to  be  one  of 
.they  object  to  the  payment  of  taxes  for  any 
ffer  them  to  be  collected,  owing  to  their  non- 


••• 


Such  as  are  not  self-sustaining  are  provided  for 
inds  being  raised  by  voluntary  subscription  ; 
'ouses  are  maintained  by  them  or  among  them, 
"^  ,  even  less  frequent  among  them  than  immense 
i  rare.  Government,  temporal  and  spiritual,  — 
r*  imflict  with  the  rightful  authority  and  jurisdic- 
*  iw,  —  is  defined  and  administered  by  represen- 
lale,  who  assemble  in  conventions  known  as 
md  yearly  meetings,  and  public  or  Quaker 
T(*  'ficial  relied  upon  for  the  enforcement  of  the 
c  ations  of  the  law,  and  gospel  givers  of  the  Quaker 
•^  gs  they  are  said  to  be  scrupulously  exact ;  the 
e  that  Quaker  measure  is  more  than  just,  it  is 
-)lieved  to  be  a  serious  mistake  ;  it  is  more  than 
are  square  even  to  the  last  pennyweight,  no 
.ot  only  creditable  to  their  sense  of  justice  and 
fair  dealing,  but  places  them  conspicuous,  in  this  regard,  for  imita- 
tion of  seared  and  callous  consciences,  and  the  advantages  of  many 
purchasers. 

There  are  now  about  twenty  meeting-houses  in  the  State,  and 
though  they  do  not  increase  in  numbers  and  influence  so  rapidly  as 
some  denominations,  still  they  maintain  the  even  tenor  of  their  way, 
and  may  in  some  respects  serve  as  a  profitable  example  to  many 
other  of  larger  numbers,  of  more  influence,  and  greater  pretensions. 

*  Discipline. 
17 


128  THE  MEREINACK  EIVEE; 

time  to  time  swept  over  them,  threatening  to  obliterate  the  Friend 
and  his  faith  together. 

Stoutly  maintaining  the  principle  of  religious  ~ 
and  boldly,  without  fear  or  favor,  displaying  tl 
ble  emblems  by  which,  if  in  no  other  manne. 
and  recognized  of  men;  never  propagandists 
tractive  and  unfashionable  in  personal  adorn 
and  places  of  religious  worship,  and  in  the  au 
requirements,  their  theory  has  never  been  poj 
rapid;  their  proselytes  springing  from  the 
persecution  and  violent  and  unreasoning  den 
from  spontaneous  attraction  of  the  faith  or  the 
seems  to  be  a  combination  of  civil  and  religioi 
monious  blending  of  Church  and  State,  prac 
efficient.  They  do  not  believe  in  a  hireling  m; 
eluding,  that  if  inspired  with  power  they  will  f 
as  was  the  Saviour,  to  preach  from  the  high 
hill-tops  without  money  and  without  price. 

Litigation  among  the  members  meets  with  u; 
tion,  it  being  engaged  in  on  pain  of  excommun 
be  seen  that  lawyers  and  ministers  among  tht 
and  potatoes,  or  engage  in  some  other  products 
remptory  regulations  and  provisions  against  the 
preachers  they  regard  as  not  only  a  moral  impr 
liant  stroke  of  policy,  obviating  the  necessit 
maintaining  a  big  devil  in  their  community,  or 
large  salaries  to  battle  him. 

"  Our  ancient  testimony  against  an  hireling  . 

tributions  to  the  maintenance  and  support  therecL, 0 

examples  and  precepts  of  our  Lord  and  his  primitive  followers  and 
disciples ;  it  is  the  sense  of  this  meeting  that  friends  be  careful  to 
support  the  same,  by  a  faithful  testimony  against  contributing  towards 
their  salaries  by  tax  or  otherwise,  and  against  the  building  or  repair- 
ing their  meeting-houses. 

"  Also  this  meeting  doth  advise  that  if  any  person  professing  the 
truth  among  us  and  esteemed  a  Friend,  shall  refuse  speedily  to  adjust 
the  difference,  or  refer  it  as  before  ad  vised  to  (arbitration),  complaint 
be  made  of  that  person  or  persons  unto  the  monthly  meeting  to  which 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  129 

they  doth  belong,  and  if  after  admonition  he  shall  refuse  so  to  refer 
his  case,  that  then  the  meeting  do  testify  against  such  person,  and 
disown  him  to  be  of  our  society  until  he  shall  comply  with  the  equal 
methods  and  agreements  of  our  society,  and  by  such,  his  compliance 
doth  declare  that  he  is  for  peace,  and  doth  seek  and  desire  it. 

"  We  have,  as  a  people,  looked  upon  ourselves  as  well  as  the 
primitive  Christians  to  be  included  in  the  notable  prophecy  of  Isaiah 
ii.  4 :  '  They  shall  beat  their  swords  into  ploughshares,  and  their 
spears  into  pruning-hooks,  and  learn  to  war  no  more.'  "  * 

It  will  be  seen  that  war  or  bearing  arms  for  any  purpose  is  repu- 
diated and  forbidden,  and,  as  consistency  is  claimed  to  be  one  of 
their  brightest  jewels,  they  object  to  the  payment  of  taxes  for  any 
such  purpose,  but  suffer  them  to  be  collected,  owing  to  their  non- 
resistant  principles.  Such  as  are  not  self-sustaining  are  provided  for 
by  the  society,  all  funds  being  raised  by  voluntary  subscription  ; 
consequently  no  poorhouses  are  maintained  by  them  or  among  them, 
and  squalid  poverty  is  even  less  frequent  among  them  than  immense 
wealth,  and  both  are  rare.  Government,  temporal  and  spiritual,  — 
so  far  as  it  does  not  conflict  with  the  rightful  authority  and  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  common  law,  —  is  defined  and  administered  by  represen- 
tatives, male  and  female,  who  assemble  in  conventions  known  as 
monthly,  quarterly,  and  yearly  meetings,  and  public  or  Quaker 
opinion  is  the  sole  official  relied  upon  for  the  enforcement  of  the 
decrees  or  recommendations  of  the  law,  and  gospel  givers  of  the  Quaker 
sect.  In  their  dealings  they  are  said  to  be  scrupulously  exact ;  the 
impression  seems  to  be  that  Quaker  measure  is  more  than  just,  it  is 
generous.  This  is  believed  to  be  a  serious  mistake  ;  it  is  more  than 
they  claim ;  if  they  are  square  even  to  the  last  pennyweight,  no 
more,  no  less,  it  is  not  only  creditable  to  their  sense  of  justice  and 
fair  dealing,  but  places  them  conspicuous,  in  this  regard,  for  imita- 
tion of  seared  and  callous  consciences,  and  the  advantages  of  many 
purchasers. 

There  are  now  about  twenty  meeting-houses  in  the  State,  and 
though  they  do  not  increase  in  numbers  and  influence  so  rapidly  as 
some  denominations,  still  they  maintain  the  even  tenor  of  their  way, 
and  may  in  some  respects  serve  as  a  profitable  example  to  many 
other  of  larger  numbers,  of  more  influence,  and  greater  pretensions. 

*  Discipline. 
17 


130  THE  MEKEIMACK  E1VEH; 

"  While  the  magistrates  of  Portsmouth  were  busy  with  the  witches, 
religious  intolerance  broke  out  fiercely  against  the  Quakers.  During 
the  whole  period  of  this  persecution,  New  Hampshire  was  but, an 
appendage  to  Massachusetts,  and  the  laws  by  which  Quakers  were 
whipped  and  led  through  the  streets  of  Dover  tied  to  carts  were  laws 
of  Massachusetts.  The  stain  of  that  vindictive  persecution  attaches 
itself  to  New  Hampshire,  because  she  had  a  small  representation  in 
the  assembly  of  Massachusetts  when  those  laws  were  enacted.  The 
civil  authorities  of  Boston  justified  their  proceedings  with  the  specious 
pretence  of  securing  the  peace  and  order  of  society.  They  declared 
the  'vagabond  Quakers'  to  be  'capital  blasphemers,'  seducers 
from  the  glorious  Trinity,  open  enemies  to  government,  subverters 
both  of  church  and  State.  Accordingly,  a  law  was  published  prohib- 
iting the  Quakers  from  coming  to  the  colony  on  pain  of  the  House 
of  Correction ;  notwithstanding  which,  by  a  back-door  they  found 
entrance. 

"  The  penalty  was  then  increased  to  cutting  off  the  ears  of  those  who 
offended  the  second  time.  This  barbarous  punishment  was  inflicted 
in  several  instances,  for  which  the  public  safety  was  the  ready 
apology.  But  even  this  proved  ineffectual ;  and  the  offenders  were 
next  banished  upon  pain  of  death  for  returning.  But  this  availed 
nothing;  the  Quakers  returned,  and  sealed  with  their  blood  the 
testimony  of  their  faith.  Of  all  the  wrongs  which  man  has  inflicted 
upon  his  fellow-man,  is  there  ole  which  has  not  been  perpetrated  in 
th6  name  of  religion  and  for  public  good? 

"  On  the  27th  of  October,  1659,  Robinson  and  Stevenson  were  led 
to  execution,  attended  by  two  hundred  armed  men,  besides  many 
horsemen.  When  they  had  come  near  the  gallows,  a  coarse  and 
vulgar  priest  cried  out  tauntingly  to  Robinson,  '  Shall  such  Jacks 
as  you  come  in  before  authority  with  hats  on  ?  '  To  which  the 
martyrs  made  a  mild  reply.  The  prisoners  then  tenderly  embraced 
each  other,  and  ascended  the  ladder.  When  Robinson  signified  to 
the  spectators  that  he  '  suffered  not  as  an  evil-doer, '  the  voice  of  the 
priest  was  again  heard,  '  Hold  thy  tongue  ;  be  silent ;  thou  art  going 
to  die  with  a  lie  in  thy  mouth.'  The  sufferers  were  soon  launched 
off;  their  last  words  were  silenced  by  the  beating  of  drums.  When 
William  Ledra  was  brought  to  the  gallows,  he  made  a  speech  which 
'took  so  much  with  the  people  that  it  wrought  a  tenderness.' 


ITS  SOUItCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  131 

"  Allen,  an  officious  priest,  was  near,  whose  business  it  was  to  make 
the  martyr  odious,  and  instantly  interrupted  him.  'People,'  cried 
Allen,  '  I  would  not  have  you  think  it  strange  to  see  a  man  so 
willing  to  die.' 

' '  The  hangman  was  commanded  to  make  haste  with  Ledra,  and 
so  he  was  turned  off,  'and  finished  his  days.'  But  his  friends, 
with  solicitude,  gathered  around  the  foot  of  the  gallows,  caught  the 
body  in  their  arms  as  it  fell,  bathed  it  with  tears,  and,  having  waited 
until  the  hangman  had  stripped  it  of  the  clothes,  laid  it  decently  in 
a  coffin.  Thus  intolerance  had  another  victim. 

11  When  the  news  of  this  bloody  work  was  carried  to  England,  and 
reached  the  king,  an  order  was  forthwith  issued  to  Gov.  Endicott 
to  suspend  all  executions,  and  send  the  Quakers  to  England  for 
trial,  —  a  privilege  which  they  claimed  when  brought  before  the 
courts  of  Massachusetts. 

"  The  next  year,  three  women  were  publicly  whipped  in  New 
Hampshire  in  the  depth  of  winter ;  the  constables  were  ordered  to 
strip  them  and  tie  them  to  a  cart ;  then  to  drive  the  cart,  and  whip 
these  three  tender  women  through  eleven  towns,  with  ten  stripes 
apiece  in  each  town.  The  route  lay  through  Dover,  Hampton,  Salis- 
bury, Newbury,  Rowley,  Ipswich,  "Wenham,  Lynn,  Boston,  Roxbury, 
and  Dedham,  a  distance  of  near  eighty  miles.  They  were  whipped 
at  Dover  and  Hampton,  and  then  carried,  '  through  dirt  and  snow  half 
the  leg  deep,'  in  a  very  cold  day,  to  Salisbury,  and  there  whipped 
again.  They  would  probably  have  perished  long  before  reaching  the 
end  of  the  route,  but  at  Salisbury  they  were  happily  released. 
Walter  Barefoot  persuaded  the  constable  to  make  him  his  deputy, 
and  having  received  the  warrant  set  them  at  liberty,  and  they  returned 
to  Dover."  * 

"The  prosperity  of  Albany  has  been  retarded  by  a  remarkable 
disease  which  almost  entirely  prevents  the  raising  of  neat  stock.  Its 
peculiarities  are  a  loss  of  appetite,  costiveness,  contraction  of  the 
abdomen,  followed  in  a  few  days  by  powerful  evacuations,  by  which 
the  animals  are  rapidly  reduced,  and  soon  die. 

"  Superstition  and  tradition  point  to  the  curse  of  Chocorua  as  the 
cause  ;  but  the  better  supposition  is,  doubtless,  that  it  is  owing  to 
certain  properties  contained  in  the  water  or  in  the  soil.  Science  will, 

*  Barstow. 


132  THE  MEEBIMACK  EIVEE  ; 

we  trust,  ere  long  point  out  the  cause  of  the  evil  which  so  much 
injures  and  afflicts  man  and  beast."  * 

Among  the  traditions  still  observed,  and  that  which  gave  Chocorua 
its  name,  is  one  possessed  of  considerable  interest.  Chocorua.  a 
great  chief,  wily  and  cruel,  having  been  for  a  long  time  a  terror  and 
scourge  to  the  whites,  it  was  determined  at  almost  any  sacrifice  to 
destroy  him.  Accordingly  a  strong  force  of  bold  and  daring  men 
assembled  to  hunt  him  down  and  exterminate  him.  Pursuit  was  at 
once  commenced ;  himself  and  his  band  discovered  ;  attack  and  pursuit 
alternated ;  the  struggle  was  desperate  and  bloody,  but  not  doubtful. 
At  length,  worn  down  by  fatigue,  and  fearfully  decimated  by  the 
unerring  musket,  and  alarmed  by  the  unshaken  persistence  of  the 
adversary,  the  remnant  of  his  band  scattered  and  fled  in  every  direc- 
tion. 

Surprised  and  disappointed  "at  this  unexpected  manoeuvre,  and 
fearing  the  cunning  and  desperate  chief  would  elude  them  and  es- 
cape, they  singled  him  out,  allowing  the  others  to  go  at  will,  and 
bent  all  their  energies  to  his  capture  or  destruction.  Like  blood- 
hounds they  followed  his  trail.  Doubling,  denning,  and  circling  like 
a  fox  in  his  dire  extremity,  adopting  every  stratagem  to  elude  his 
pursuers  known  to  savage  fertility,  he  was  as  surely  unearthed  and 
headed  off  in  every  attempt  to  escape,  until,  at  last,  closely  crowded, 
he  took  to  this  mountain.  Spreading  out  to  avoid  any  possibility  of 
his  escape  in  any  direction,  they  commenced  the  toilsome  ascent,  and 
gradually  and  steadily  closed  in  upon  the  victim.  High-spirited, 
and  hating  the  whites  with  unmitigated  animosity,  as  well  as  fearing 
and  despising  them,  he  scorned  to  ask  quarter  or  any  favor  whatever, 
but  continued  climbing  up  the  rugged  steep,  nerved  by  the  spirit  of 
desperation.  Up,  and  still  up  he  toiled,  higher  and  to  a  still  more 
dizzy  height ;  but  his  pursuers  hung  like  hungry  wolves  about  him ; 
he  could  gain  nothing  of  them.  At  length  he  reached  the  highest 
summit,  the  tip-top  pinnacle,  and  finding  he  was  securely  cornered 
and  irretrievably  lost,  that  his  enemies  were  immovably  posted 
around  him  like  a  wall  of  death,  he  prepared  for  his  doom.  Direct- 
ing his  gaze  towards  the  declining  sun,  with  face  upturned,  he 
raised  his  voice  to  the  Great  Spirit,  and  called  down  his  curse  upon 
the  land. 

*  New  Hampshire  As  It  la. 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES,  133 

What  a  picture !  Standing  on  the  highest  point  of  this  bleak 
and  barren  mountain-top,  a  pagan  savage  in  war-paint  and  aborigi- 
nal trappings,  lifting  up  his  heart  and  voice  in  supplication  to  Him 
who  created  and  governs  the  universe,  while  surrounded  by  a  cordon 
of  Christian  men,  eager  for  his  life  and  thirsting  for  his  blood  (they 
had  previously  killed  his  son),  he  prayed  that  the  Great  Spirit 
would  come  down  in  his  wrath  and  vengeance,  and  curse  the  people 
and  the  soil,  and  above  all  that  he  would  lay  his  curse  upon  the 
horned  cattle,  so  that  they  should  not  live  and  thrive  in  all  this  sec- 
tion. Having  concluded  his  prayer,  Chocorua  turned  his  eagle  eye 
upon  the  bright  and  beautiful  world  around  him,  as  if  to  enjoy  one 
long,  lingering,  parting  look  at  the  scenes  familiar  and  beloved  ;  he 
then  turned  his  face  to  the  foe,  and  with  a  defiant  gesture  and  a  hor- 
rible yell  of  combined  and  concentrated  rage  and  triumph,  waking 
the  echoes,  as  if  it  afforded  him  a  grim  and  ghastly  satisfaction  to 
rob  his  relentless  and  vindictive  pursuers  of  the  prize  they  coveted, 
he  bounded  high  in  the  air,  and  cleared  the  brink  of  the  frightful 
precipice,  —  down,  down  over  the  jagged  rifts  and  projecting:  angles 
of  this  rough  and  perpendicular  bluff,  for  two  thousand  feet>  landing 
a  shapeless  mass  of  flesh,  on  which  the  eagle  gorged  her.  young. 
Brave  old  Chocorua,  determined  and  desperate,  his  courage -a  vailed 
him  nothing ;  and  though  the  story  of  his  death  still  survives,  even 
the  fragments  of  his  bones,  bleached  and  decayed  by  time  and  the 
elements,  were  long  since  reduced  to  dust  and  mingled  with  the  very 
soil  he  cursed.  Superstitious  people  believe  that  this  prayer  was 
heard  and  answered ;  for  it  is  a  fact  that  since  then  a  very  destructive 
and  fatal  disease  has  constantly  prevailed,  exactly  the  same  disease 
from  year  to  year,  unknown  elsewhere,  destroying,  many  dollars' 
worth  of  cattle  annually.  Animals  that  are  driven  from  this  to 
other  sections  never  have  it,  and  the  disease  is  known  in  all  the  re- 
gion round  about  as  the  "  Albany  ail."  Tourists  and  strangers,  who 
have  seen  the  disease,  aver  that  it  appears  much  less  wholesome  than 
an  article  which  goes  by  a  similar  name,  that  they  have  met  with 
elsewhere. 

There  are  many  Indian  legends  current  among  the  inhabitants  of 
the  territory  about  the  base  of  old  Chocorua;  some,  no  doubt,  founded 
on  fact ;  others,  probably,  inventions  of  the  marvellously  inclined. 
Gray-haired  men  still  recount  the  hairbreadth  escape  from,  or  the. 


134  THE  MEEEIMACK  RIVER; 

miraculous  frustration  of  the  Pequaukets,  or  the  merciless  cruelties 
of  Chocorua,  Paugus,  and  their  compeers,  to  the  more  recent  comers, 
or  knee-high  youngsters  around  the  cheerful  log  fire,  who  with 
glistening  eyes,  and  their  hearts  in  their  throats,  imagine  that  every 
sound  betokens  the  approach  of  these  monsters,  every  sigh  of  the 
night-wind  is  a  war-whoop  that  the  neighbor  who  steps  in  to  "  look 
at  the  paper  a  moment,"  or  to  "  borrow  a  tallow-dip,"  is  an  Indian 
in  disguise ;  that  one  is  secreted  behind  each  tree ;  that  the  outside 
door  is  a  sally-port  through  which  he  momentarily  expects  to  see 
the  plumed  and  painted  braves  rush  in  pell-mell,  and  involuntarily 
feels  for  his  scalp. 

About  twenty  miles  from  Conway,  by  the  course  of  the  river,  on 
the  Swift  River  interval,  there  is  a  settlement  of  some  dozen  produc- 
tive and  valuable  farms,  producing  lumber,  cattle,  hay,  cereals, 
potatoes,  etc.,  but  no  corn,  the  seasons  being  too  short.  One  of  the 
farmers  said  they  never  had  more  than  two  months  in  the  year  with- 
out frost,  rarely  ever  more  than  one.  These  people,  if  they  require 
such  luxuries,  must  travel  twenty  miles  over  an  indictable  road,  for 
the  doctor,  the  post-office,  the  grocery,  or  the  church,  notwithstand- 
ing which  they  are  as  moral,  intelligent,  healthy,  and  well-fed,  as 
more  fortunate  people.  From  this  settlement,  by  the  road,  it  is  fifty 
miles  to  the  Willey  House  in  the  White  Mountain  Notch,  three 
miles  south  of  or  below  the  Crawford  House,  while  an  indescribably 
beautiful  and  pleasant  march  of  less  than  ten  miles,  by  a  blazed  or 
spotted  line  of  trees,  through  a  portion  of  Hart's  and  Sawyer's  loca- 
tions, toilsome  and  tiresome  of  course  to  those  unaccustomed  to  forest 
and  mountain  tramps,  brings  one  to  the  same  point ;  while,  turning 
in  the  other  direction,  a  tramp  of  some  seven  miles  across  the  Sand- 
wich range,  by  no  means  a  difficult  undertaking,  and  Tamworth  is 
reached,  the  distance  by  the  road  being  a  round  fifty  miles. 

From  the  summit  of  old  Chocorua,  a  splendid  view  is  obtained. 
A  number  of  villages,  like  clusters  of  bird-cages  ranged  upon 
a  green  lawn,  are  distinctly  seen.  Mountains,  huddled  together  in 
inextricable  confusion,  resembling  gigantic  tumbles  and  winrows  of 
hay  in  an  extensive  meadow,  many  lakes  and  ponds,  and  several 
rivers  are  seen  through  stretches  of  intervals  a,nd  forest,  like  silver 
threads  in  an  emerald  cloth,  while  the  great  forests  of  the  deciduous 
and  the  perennial  in  every  direction  stretch  away  interminably  into 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS   TRIBUTARIES.  135 

the*  bluf  And  misty  distance.  If  the  atmosphere  is  clear,  it  well 
repays  tae  time  and  toil ;  otherwise  it  is  unmitigated  wretchedness. 
Clouds,  thick  and  moist,  roll  far  below  the  summit;  the  wind  howls, 
and  a  chilling  torrent  of  rain  descends.  Nothing  can  be  seen,  and 
nothing  is  to  be  gained  except  the  friendly  shelter  of  the  place  from 
whence  the  excursionists  set  forth,  which,  if  accomplished  without 
soiled  and  rent  garments,  or  bruises,  is  a  decided  success,  a  masterly- 
retreat. 

Along  this  range  several  peaks  are  named.  Among  these,  Toad- 
back,  a  singular-shaped  and  densely  wooded  mountain;  Whiteface, 
high  and  bald,  and  Mount  Israel.  Whiteface  derives  its  cognomen 
from  the  fact,  that  its  south-western  face,  from  the  summit  far  down 
the  slope,  is  a  vast  bed,  comprising  hundreds  of  acres  of  crystallized 
granite  quartz.  These  crystals  are  uniformly  hexagonal,  and  are 
a  study  for  the  geologist. 

From  the  tops  of  these  mountains,  especially  Chocorua,  a  grand 
view  is  obtained  to  the  westward  beyond  the  Pemigewasset  country, 
southward  across  the  beautiful  Winnipesaukee,  while  to  the  east  is 
the  wild  valley  of  the  Upper  Saco,  and  rolling  rapidly  at  its  very 
base  is  that  fork  of  the  above-named  river,  which  is  so  well 
described  by  its  name,  the  Swift  Branch ;  uniting  with  the  Pe- 
quauket  at  Conway,  it  forms  the  Saco.  The  high  and  wild  locality 
of  their  source  up  in  the  heart  of  the  White  Hills,  and  the  romantic 
career  of  these  forks  of  the  Saco,  can  be  traced  for  a  long  distance, 
as  well  as  the  beautiful  river  itself,  below  their  confluence.  This 
mountain  has  also  given  its  name  to  a  gunboat  in  the  navy. 

Madison  was  formerly  included  in  the  territory  of  Eaton,  but  the 
town  was  divided,  and  this  portion  of  it  received  the  above  name. 
Madison  Brook  is  familiar  to  experienced  trout-catchers,  and  is  a 
great  resort  for  this  class  of  sportsmen.  In  this  town  there  is 
a  mine  which  was  first  discovered  by  the  outcropping  of  the  ore. 
A  company  was  organized,  buildings  erected,  and  the  mine  opened. 
The  company  was  incorporated  as  the  Carroll  County  Silver  Mining 
Company;  but  the  attempts  to  separate  these  ores  proved  ineffectual, 
and  the  company  failed.  Recently,  however,  a  new  company  has 
control  of  it,  at  the  head  of  which  is  Henry  J.  Banks,  Esq.,  a  man 
of  force  and  enterprise.  Recent  experiments  seem  to  have  demon- 
strated the  feasibility  of  separating  the  ores  by  specific  gravity. 


136  THE  MEEEIMACK  EIVEE; 

These  minerals  are  found  in  a  combination  of  granite,  which,  being 
separated  from  the  metals,  yield  seventy  per  cent,  of  crude  ore,  the 
lead  and  zinc  being  also  separated  by  the  same  process.  The  lead 
yields  one  thousand  four  hundred  pounds  to  the  ton  from  the  cruci- 
ble of  pure  metal,  and  one  hundred  ounces  of  pure  silver,  and  the 
zinc  gives  an  average  of  fifty-nine  per  cent. 

The  mine  is  believed  to  be  inexhaustible,  and  rather  increases  in 
purity  than  otherwise  as  the  operations  of  the  miners  are  extended. 
This  is,  without  doubt,  the  richest  mine  of  argentiferous  ore  yet 
opened  in  the  State,  it  being  not  only  remarkably  rich,  but  appar- 
ently inexhaustible,  and  should  the  experiments  now  being  made 
result  in  the  discovery  of  a  cheap,  rapid,  and  efficient  method  of 
separating  the  several  valuable  minerals  from  each  other,  this  mine 
will  prove  not  only  a  source  of  wealth  to  its  fortunate  proprietors 
(Messrs.  Banks,  French,  and  Butler),  but  an  important  item  in  the 
products  of  New  Hampshire.  Mr.  Banks  is  proprietor  of  the  well- 
known  hotel  at  West  Ossipee.  This  hotel  is  surpassed  by  few  even 
in  our  large  cities  for  the  convenience  and  comfort  of  its  internal 
arrangements.  The  rooms  are  supplied  with  pure  cold  water  from  a 
mountain  spring,  and  its  location  by  the  Bearcamp  renders  it  cool, 
pleasant,  and  comfortable  for  the  permanent  or  transient  sojourners ; 
while  the  scenery  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  house  is  charming. 
The  distant  view  is  peculiarly  grand. 

Conway  seems  to  be  the  grand  gateway  to  the  White  Mountain 
region.  Located  on  the  territory  of  the  Pequaukets,  it  is  romantic 
and  delightful  as  a  summer  resort,  and  wealth  and  taste  have  been 
united  to  enhance  its  natural  advantages  in  this  regard.  It  is  a 
lovely  and  important  inland  town.  The  Pequauket  and  Swift  Rivers 
unite  here  and  form  the  Saco. 

In  1765  Daniel  Foster  obtained  a  grant  of  the  territory.  The 
conditions  were  that  each  grantee  should  pay  an  annual  rent  of  one 
ear  of  corn  for  ten  years,  if  demanded. 

On  the  south  side  of  Pine  Hill  is  a  huge  block  of  granite,  be- 
lieved to  be  the  largest  fragment  of  rock  in  the  State.  Magnesia 
and  fuller's  earth  are  found  here.  The  Saco.  having  sources  among 
the  mountains,  is  subject  to  a  very  rapid  rise,  and  has  been  known  to 
rise  thirty  feet  in  a  single  day.  At  the  west  end  of  Ossipee  Lake 
there  is  a  mound  of  earth  some  fifty  feet  in  diameter,  and  ten  or  twelve 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  137 

feet  high.  It  is  artificial,  and  from  it  have  been  taken  several  en- 
tire human  skeletons,  also  tomahawks  and  other  relics,  supposed  to 
be  of  the  Pequaukets,  and  it  is  believed  this  mound  was  one  of  the 
principal  burial-places  of  the  tribe. 

From  Conway  to  the  Crawford  House  the  thoroughfare  is,  perhaps, 
as  well  known  and  as  much  travelled  as  any  section  of  road  of  its 
length  in  the  country.  Throughout  the  journey  new  objects  of  at- 
traction constantly  burst  upon  the  view.  Kearsarge,  in  duplicate, 
which  should  have  been  called  Pequauket,  is  unquestionably  the 
most  symmetrical  mountain  in  the  State.  Rising  two  thousand  seven 
hundred  feet  above  the  plain  at  its  base,  its  sides  taper  gradually  to 
the  summit.  The  uncommon  regularity  of  its  outline  could  be 
properly  attributed  to  artificial  causes. 

The  most  famous  gunboat  in  the  American  navy  bears  the  name 
of  Kearsarge.  It  was  this  powerful  ship  which  boldly  grappled 
with  that  famous  scourge  of  the  seas,  the  Alabama,  and,  by  a  well- 
directed  or  lucky  shot,  ruined  her  future  prospects. 

Moat  Mountain  never  fails  to  attract  the  notice  of  all.  Goodrich 
Falls,  picturesque  and  grand,  are  a  great  point  of  attraction,  while 
the.  silver  cascades  elicit  from  every  one  exclamations  of  unbounded 
admiration  and  delight. 

A  large  rock  by  the  wayside  bears  the  name  of  an  heroic  but  un- 
fortunate girl  who  perished  in  the  snow  near  it  in  an  insane  attempt 
to  follow  her  faithless  lover ;  and,  to  this  day,  the  superstitious  who 
pass  this  spot  in  the  lonely  hours  of  night  imagine  his  perturbed 
spirit  hovers  around  and  moans  sadly,  as  if  in  perpetual  torment. 

The  Willey  House,  where  the  great  slide  occurred,  arrests  the 
attention  and  progress  of  all,  and  the  scene  of  the  catastrophe  is  sur- 
veyed with  mingled  emotions  of  interest  and  pity  for  the  sad  fate  of 
the  unfortunate  Willey  family. 

"A  few  weeks  after  the  day  that  I  passed  in  this  secluded  valley 
there  was  a  violent  storm  of  rain,  which  produced  an  avalanche,  or, 
according  to  the  language  of  that  region,  a  slide,  and  the  family  of 
Mr.  Willey,  —  by  whom  I  and  my  companions  had  been  entertained 
during  our  journey,  —  consisting  of  himself  and  wife,  five  children, 
and  two  hired  men,  were  buried  beneath  the  rocks,  trees,  and  earth 
that  were  borne  down  by  the  freshet. 

' '  It  was  supposed  that  they  were  alarmed  by  the  noise,  and  left 
18 


138  THE  MEEEIMACK  RIVER; 

the  house  in  their  flight,  and  thus  met  inevitable  death.  Just  before 
it  reached  the  house,  the  avalanche  divided  into  two  parts,  one  pass- 
ing each  side  of  the  house,  leaving  it  untouched.  Thus  was  stricken 
from  the  face  of  the  earth  a  group,  which  the  virtuous  and  the  happy 
could  not  but  admire,  which  the  rich  and  the  proud  might  envy. 
No  mortal  eye  was  permitted  to  witness  and  survive  the  agonies  of 
that  awful  moment ;  no  mortal  ear  caught  the  expiring  groan  of  the 
sufferers.  The  horrors  of  the  catastrophe  are  imprinted  on  the  mem- 
ory of  no  child  of  earth ;  yet  were  the  hairs  of  their  heads  all  num- 
bered ;  and  who  is  there  that  would  not  admire  the  kindness  of  that 
Providence  which  left  no  bruised  reed  standing  amidst  a  scene  of 
bereavements ;  no  parent  to  weep  over  the  mangled  and  faded  flower ; 
no  infant  bud  cut  from  the  parent  stock  to  wither  and  die  in  the 
blast?"* 

The  scene  of  this  appalling  calamity  continues  to  be  invested  with 
a  deep  and  mournful  interest.  It  has  been  visited,  in  person,  by 
very  many,  —  more  than  one  hundred  thousand  people.  Every  ac- 
count of  it  is  read  with  avidity,  and  no  description  of  it  is  perhaps 
more  interesting  than  the  simple,  touching,  and  beautiful  ballad, 
"  The  Willey  House.  A  Ballad  of  the  White  Hills  j  by  Dr.  T.  W. 
Parsons,  of  Boston  "  :  — 

"  Come,  children,  put  your  baskets  down, 

And  let  the  blushing  berries  be ; 
Sit  here  and  wreathe  a  laurel  crown, 
And  if  I  win  it,  give  it  me. 

"  Tis  afternoon,  —  it  is  July,  — 

The  mountain  shadows  grow  and  grow; 
Your  time  of  rest  and  mine  is  nigh,  — 
The  moon  was  rising  long  ago. 

"  While  yet  on  old  Chocorua's  top 

The  lingering  sunlight  says  farewell, 
Your  purple-fingered  labor  stop, 
And  hear  a  tale  I  have  to  tell. 

"  You  see  that  cottage  in  the  glen,  — 

Yon  desolate,  forsaken  shed,  — 
Whose  mouldering  threshold,  now  and  then; 
Only  a  few  stray  travellers  tread. 

*  Extract  from  the  "  Boston  Galaxy,"  1826,  Hon.  Joseph  T.  Buckingham,  Editor. 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  139 

"  No  smoke  is  curling  from  its  roof, 

At  eve  no  cattle  gather  round, 
No  neighbor  now,  with  dint  of  hoof, 
Prints  his  glad  visit  on  the  ground. 

"  A  happy  home  it  was  of  yore ; 

At  morn  the  flocks  went  nibbling  by, 
And  Farmer  Willey,  at  his  door, 
Oft  made  their  reckoning  with  his  eye. 

"  Where  yon  rank  alder-trees  have  sprung, 

And  birches  cluster  thick  and  tall, 
Once  the  stout  apple  overhung 
With  his  red  gifts  the  orchard  wall. 

"  Right  fond  and  pleasant  in  their  ways 

The  gentle  Willey  people  were ; 
I  knew  them  in  those  peaceful  days, 
And  Mary  —  every  one  knew  her. 

"  Two  summers  now  had  seared  the  hills, 

Two  years  of  little  rain  or  dew ; 
High  up  the  courses  of  the  rills 
The  wild  rose  and  the  raspberry  grew. 

"  The  mountain-sides  were  cracked  and  dry, 

And  frequent  fissures  on  the  plain, 
Like  mouths,  gaped  open  to  the  sky, 
As  though  the  parched  earth  prayed  for  rain. 

*«  One  sultry  August  afternoon, 

Old  Willey,  looking  towards  the  west, 
Said,  '  We  shall  hear  the  thunder  soon ; 
Oh !  if  it  bring  us  rain,  'tis  blest. ' 

"  And  even  with  his  word,  a  smell 

Of  sprinkled  fields  passed  through  the  air, 
And  from  a  single  cloud  there  fell        • 
A  few  large  drops,  —  the  rain  was  there. 

"Ere  set  of  sun  a  thunder  stroke 

Gave  signal  to  the  floods  to  rise ; 
Then  the  great  seal  of  heaven  was  broke ; 
Then  burst  the  gates  that  barred  the  skies ; 

"  While  from  the  west  the  clouds  rolled  on, 
And  from  the  nor'west  gathered  fast,  — 
'  We'll  have  enough  of  rain  anon,' 
Said  Willey,  '  if  this  deluge  last. ' 


140  THE  MEEEIMACK  RIVER; 

"  For  all  these  cliffs  that  stand  sublime 

Around,  like  solemn  priests  appeared, 
Gray  draids  of  the  olden  time, 
Each  with  his  white  and  streaming  beard. 

"  Till  in  one  sheet  of  seething  foam 

The  mingling  torrents  joined  their  might; 
But  in  the  Willeys'  quiet  home 
Was  naught  but  silence  and  '  good-night.' 

e         "  For  soon  they  went  to  their  repose, 

And  in  their  beds,  all  safe  and  warm, 
Saw  not  how  fast  the  waters  rose, 
Heard  not  the  growing  of  the  storm. 

"But  just  before  the  stroke  of  ten 

Old  Willey  looked  into  the  night, 
And  called  upon  his  two  hired  men, 
And  woke  his  wife,  who  struck  a  light ; 

"  Though  her  hand  trembled,  as  she  heard 

The  horses  whinnying  in  the  stall ; 
And  '  Children '  was  the  only  word 
That  woman  from  her  lips  let  fall. 

"  « Mother '  the  frighted  infants  cried, 

'  What  is  it?  has  a  whirlwind  come?' 
Wildly  the  weeping  mother  eyed 
Each  little  darling,  but  was  dumb. 

"  A  sound !  as  though  a  mighty  gale 

Some  forest  from  its  hold  had  riven, 
Mixed  with  a  rattling  noise  like  hail ! 
God !  art  thou  raining  rocks  from  heaven f 

"  A  flash !  O  Christ !  the  lightning  showed 

The  mountain  moving  from  his  seat  1 
Out,  out  into  the  slippery  road, 
Into  the  wet  with  naked  feet !  — 

"  No  time  for  dress,  —  for  life !  for  life  I 

No  time  for  any  word  but  this ; 
The  father  grasped  his  boys ;  his  wife 
Snatched  her  young  babe  — but  not  to  kiss. 

"  And  Mary  with  the  younger  girl, 

Barefoot  and  shivering  in  their  smocks, 
Sped  forth  amid  that  angry  whirl 
Of  rushing  waves  and  whelming  rocks. 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  141 

"  Far  down  the  mountain's  crumbling  side, 

Full  half  the  mountain  from  on  high 
Came  sinking,  like  the  snows  that  slide 
From  the  great  Alps  about  July. 

"  And  with  it  went  the  lordly  ash, 

And  with  it  went  the  kingly  pine, 
Cedar  and  oak,  amid  the  crash, 
Dropped  down  like  clippings  of  the  vine. 

«'  Two  rivers  rushed,  —  the  one  that  broke 

His  wonted  bounds  and  drowned  the  land, 
And  one  that  streamed  with  dust  and  smoke,  — 
A  flood  of  earth,  and  stones,  and  sand. 

"  Then  for  a  time  the  vale  was  dry, 

The  soil  had  swallowed  up  the  wave ; 
Till  one  star  looking  from  the  sky, 
A  signal  to  the  tempest  gave. 

"  The  clouds  withdrew,  the  storm  was  o'er, 

Bright  Aldebaran  burned  again ; 
The  buried  river  rose  once  more 
And  foamed  along  his  gravelly  glen. 

• 
"  At  morn  the  men  of  Conway  felt 

Some  dreadful  thing  had  chanced  that  night, 
And  some  by  Breton  woods  who  dwelt 
Observed  the  mountain's  altered  height. 

"  Old  Crawford  and  the  Fabyan  lad 

Came  down  from  Ammonoosuc  then, 
And  passed  the  Notch  —  oh !  strange  and  sad 
It  was  to  see  the  ravaged  glen.  • 

"  But  having  toiled  for  miles,  in  doubt, 
With  many  a  risk  of  limb  and  neck, 
They  saw,  and  hailed  with  joyful  shout, 
The  Willey  House  amid  the  wreck. 

"  That  avalanche  of  stones  and  sand, 
Remembering  mercy  in  its  wrath, 
Had  parted,  and  on  either  hand 
Pursued  the  ruin  of  its  path. 

"  And  there,  upon  its  pleasant  slope, 

The  cottage,  like  a  sunny  isle 
That  wakes  the  shipwrecked  seaman's  hope, 
Amid  the  horror  seemed  to  smile. 


142  THE  MEBEIMACK  HIVES; 

"  And  still  upon  the  lawn  before, 

The  peaceful  sheep  were  nibbling  nigh; 
But  Farmer  Willey  at  his  door 
Stood  not  to  count  them  with  his  eye. 

"  And  in  the  dwelling  —  O  despair !  — 

The  silent  room,  the  vacant  bed ! 
The  children's  little  shoes  were  there,  — 
But  whither  were  the  children  fled? 

"  That  day  a  woman's  head,  all  gashed, 
Its  long  hair  streaming  in  the  flow, 
Went  o'er  the  dam.  and  then  was  dashed 
Among  the  whirlpools  down  below. 

- 
"  And  farther  down,  by  Saco's  side, 

They  found  the  mangled  forms  of  four, 
Held  in  an  eddy  of  the  tide ; 
But  Mary,  she  was  seen  no  more. 

"  Yet  never  to  this  mournful  vale 

Shall  any  maid,  in  summer  time, 
Come,  without  thinking  of  the  tale 
I  now  have  told  you  in  my  rhyme. 

"  And  when  the  Willey  House  is  gone, 

And  its  last  rafter  is  decayed, 
Its  history  may  yet  live  on 
In  this  your  ballad  that  I  made. " 

The  gateway  of  the  Notch  is  twenty-two  feet  wide,  and  is  for 
miles  a  narrow  gorge,  scarcely  wide  enough  for  the  road  and  the 
Saco  River,  which  foams  through  the  Notch,  a  rapid  torrent. 
.  From  the  mountain-side  comes  tumbling  a  magnificent  cascade, 
more  than  eight  hundred  feet  high,  directly  to  the  road  and  river. 
Another,  not  so  high,  falls  over  three  several  precipices,  over  the 
last  of  which  it  divides  into  three  separate  streams,  uniting  again  at 
the  foot  of  the  mountain. 

Ascending  the  mountain,  a  plain  is  reached  far  up,  which  is  the 
base  of  the  final  pinnacle,  towering  fifteen  hundred  feet ;  still  high- 
er, a  ragged,  barren  summit,  where,  in  clear  weather,  the  most  ex- 
tensive prospect  opens,  to  be  found  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
The  vision  extends  from  the  deep  blue  of  the  broad  Atlantic  to  the 
deep  green  of  the  Vermont  hills ;  from  the  Canadas  on  the  north  to 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  143 

the  old  Bay  State  on  the  south,  presenting  a  view,  in  extent  and 
variety,  unequalled. 

Long  years  before  the  white  man  set  foot  upon  the  soil  of  New 
Hampshire,  the  red  man  had  an  unwritten  history  of  all  this  moun- 
tain region,  founded  on  his  superstitious  veneration  for  all  that  is 
sublime,  beautiful,  or  grand  in  nature.  The  whole  mountain  region 
of  northern  New  Hampshire  he  called  by  the  general  name  of  Agi- 
ochocook.  They  had  a  tradition  that  a  deluge  destroyed  all  the 
people,  except  one  Powow,  —  the  traditional  Noah  of  the  red  man,  — 
and  his  squaw,  who,  fleeing  before  the  rising  waters,  finally  saved 
themselves  upon  these  heights,  which  were  inaccessible  to  the  floods, 
and  finally  repeopled  the  earth. 

"  These  awful  summits  they  regarded  with  superstitious  venera- 
tion. The  red  man  believed  that  a  powerful  genius  presided  on  their 
overhanging  cliffs,  and  by  their  waterfalls.  His  imagination  peopled 
them  with  invisible  beings.  He  saw  the  Great  Spirit  in  the  clouds 
gathered  around  their  tops ;  he  heard  his  voice,  speaking  in  the 
revels  of  the  storm,  and  calling  aloud  in  the  thunders  that  leaped 
from  cliff  to  cliff,  and  rumbled  in  the  hollows  of  the  mountains. 

"A  god  resided  in  the  stars,  the  lakes,  and  the  recesses  of  the 
grottos.  He  saw  him  in  the  clouds,  and  heard  him  in  the  winds  — 
frowning  in  the  wintry  blast  —  breathing  in  the  zephyrs  of  spring 
—  smiling  in  the  first  blush  of  morning,  and  the  last  hue  of  twilight 
that  lingers  above  the  pines  in  the  western  sky. 

"  Influenced  by  fear,  the  Indians  never  ascended  the  White  Moun- 
tains. They  supposed  the  invisible  inhabitants  would  resent  any 
intrusion  into  'their  sacred  precincts. 

"  But  the  emotions  of  the  white  man  were  very  different.  He. 
especially  if  he  is  a  Yankee,  -  wants  to  know ;  '  and  more  than  two 
hundred  years  ago  he  explored  these  solitudes,  and  his  report,  though 
different  from  the  tradition  of  the  Indians,  was  quite  as  exaggerated. 
But  the  Indian  is  known  no  more  among  these  wild,  romantic  scenes ; 
the  fearless  and  enthusiastic  explorer  of  the  early  time  has,  also, 
long  since  gone,  and  his  reports,  largely  drawn  from  imagination, 
conjecture  and  fancy,  have  long  since,  like  the  tradition  of  the  red 
man,  been  dispelled  by  a  better  knowledge  of  the  region,  by  the  light 
of  facts  and  science ;  and  though  the  fleecy  vapors  still  whirl  abou* 
these  awful  peaks,  and  the  winds  moan  like  uneasy  spirits  from 


144  THE  MEBBIMACK  EIVEE; 

Pandemonium,  and  Jove  still  sits  enthroned  upon  the  lofty  pinna- 
cles, and  milky  torrents  still  roll  down  their  sides,  there  is  tothing 
of  mystery  hovering  about  this  section  now,  excepting  the  inexpli- 
cable mystery  of  their  creation. 

"  In  1642,  Capt.  Neal  explored  the  White  Mountain  region,  moved 
to  this  enterprise,  doubtless,  by  a  passion  for  discovery  and  adven- 
ture, and  there  could  be  no  other  place  so  well  calculated  to  gratify  a 
disposition  of  that  kind,  as  the  unknown  and  mysterious  region  which 
included  these  great  mountains. 

"  Such  an  impression  had  they  made  upon  the  imagination  of  Neal, 
that  he  set  out  on  foot,  attended  by  two  companions,  to  reach  them 
through  an  unexplored  forest.  He  described  them,  in  the  most  exag- 
gerated style,  '  to  be  a  ridge  extending  an  hundred  leagues,  on  which 
snow  lieth  all  the  year,  and  inaccessible  except  by  the  gullies  which 
the  dissolved  snow  hath  made.'  On  one  of  these  mountains  the 
travellers  reported  '  to  have  found  a  plain  of  a  day's  journey  over, 
whereon  nothing  grows  but  moss ;  and,  at  the  further  end  of  this 
plain,  a  rude  heap  of  mossy  stones,  piled  upon  one  another  a  mile 
high,  on  which  one  might  ascend  from  stone  to  stone,  like  a  pair  of 
winding  stairs,  to  the  top,  where  was  another  level  of  about  an  acre, 
with  a  pond  of  clear  water.'  This  summit  was  said  to  be  far  above 
the  clouds,  and  from  hence  they  beheld  a  vapor  like  a  vast  pillar 
drawn  up  by  the  sunbeams  out  of  a  great  lake  into  the  air,  whence 

it  was  formed  into  a  cloud. 

i 

"  The  country  beyond  these  mountains,  northward,  was  said  to  be 
'daunting  terrible,'  full  of  rocky  hills,  as  thick  as  molehills  in  a 
meadow,  and  clothed  with  infinite  thick  woods.  They  had  great 
expectations  of  finding  precious  stones ;  and  something  resembling 
crystals  being  picked  up  was  sufficient  to  give  them  the  name  of 
'  Crystal  Hills.'  From  hence  they  continued  their  route  in  search 
of  a  lake,  and  '  faire  islands.'  But  their  provisions  were  now  well- 
nigh  spent,  and  the  forests  of  Laconia  yielded  no  supply.  So  they 
were  obliged  to  set  their  faces  homeward,  when  'the  discovery 
wanted  one  day's  journey  of  being  finished.'  "  * 

Late  in  the  year,  depressed  with  that  disappointment  which  ever 
treads  upon  the  heels  of  extravagant  expectations,  they  returned 
from  their  melancholy  journey  across  the  wilderness. 

*  Barstow. 


ITS  SOUBCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  145 

Extract  from  a  letter  of  George  B.  Roberts,  Esq.,  September, 
1868  :  - 

"  Here  is  the  gateway  between  the  Saco  and  Ammonoosuc  valleys, 
and  we  enter  the  latter,  riding  four  miles  to  the  Fabyan  or  Mount 
Washington  stand,  where  work  has  already  commenced  for  the  erec- 
tion of  one  of  the  finest  houses  in  the  State.  This  is  the  starting- 
point  of  a  turnpike  road,  six  miles  in  length,  to  the  depot  of  the 
Mount  Washington  Railroad,  and  taking  us  into  a  regular  amphi- 
theatre of  hills,  asking  of  us,  it  is  true,  a  heavy  toll,  but  amply 
repaying,  by  keeping  us  in  full  view  of  the  highest  summits,  and 
grandest  elevations  of  land  this  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and 
seems  destined  to  be  the  great  thoroughfare  to  '  Tip-top.'  The 
only  other  approach  which  equals  this  in  beauty  and  sublimity  is 
from  the  Crawford  House,  the  bridle-path  over  Mounts  Clinton  and 
Pleasant ;  but  I  wish  to  say  something  of  the  Mount  Washington 
Railroad,  which  traverses  the  western  side  of  the  mountain  of  the 
same  name. 

' '  This  road,  which  is  purely  the  invention  of  Mr.  Marsh,  of  Little- 
ton, and  to  which  he  has  devoted  several  years  of  toil  and  much  of 
his  private  fortune,  is  not  yet  complete,  is  carrying  passengers  from 
base  to  summit,  and  back,  for  two  dollars  each,  the  distance  being 
about  two  and  one-half  miles,  and  the  elevation  more  than  four 
thousand  feet.  When  the  road  is  completed,  the  average  grade  will 
be  about  five  feet  per  rod.  It  has  upon  its  track  two  engines  of 
forty  horse-power  each,  and  when  not  engaged  in  taking  passengers, 
are  carrying  lumber  to  the  top  of  the  mountain  to  finish  the  road. 
The  company  have  a  saw-mill  at  the  depot,  which  was  first  started 
as  a  water-mill,  using  the  '  Tyler  wheel,'  but  the  water  was  found 
to  be  insufficient  at  some  seasons  of  the  year,  and  a  steam  engine 
of  thirty  horse-power  was  substituted,  which  runs  a  fifty-inch  circu- 
lar saw,  and  is  cutting  lumber  at  the  rate  of  ten  thousand  feet  per 
day.  Much  of  the  road  is  built  on  trestle  work,  requiring  a  large 
amount  of  lumber.  There  is  nothing  about  the  running  wheels  of 
the  engine  or  cars,  or  the  rails  upon  which  they  run,  which  is  differ- 
ent from  the  other  roads,  but  the  road  has  a  centre  rail,  and  each 
engine  and  car  two  driving  and  holding  wheels,  the  rail  upon  the 
plan  of  the  segment,  the  wheels  on  the  plan  of  the  gear,  com- 
pletely fitting  the  segment  rail,  and  all  fitted  with  powerful  brakes, 
19 


146  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

—  any  one  of  which  will  instantly  stop  an  engine  and  two  loaded 
cars  upon  the  steepest  grade.  This  is  easily  done,  as  the  cars  move 
only  about  two  miles  per  hour,  and  the  breaking  of  a  wheel  or  axle 
would  result  in  no  serious  accident.  The  road  has  been  partially  in 
operation  for  the  last  year,  and  fully  meets  the  most  sanguine  ex- 
pectations of  its  inventors  and  constructors.  The  train  upon  which 
our  party  ascended,  carried  thirty  gentlemen  and  ten  ladies,  and  all 
seemed  highly  delighted  with  the  ride. 

"  This  road,  and  its  practical  operation,  of  course  settles  the 
question  of  the  practicability  of  ascending  mountains  by  steam,  and 
too  much  praise  cannot  be  awarded  Mr.  Marsh,  for  overcoming  ob- 
stacles and  surmounting  difficulties  which  would  have  wrecked  the 
fortune  of  a  less  enterprising  and  persevering  genius.  " 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  147 


CHAPTER    VI. 

Gilford.  —  Alton.  — Wolf  boro'.  —  Tuftonborough.  —  Meredith.  —  Sanbornton.  —  North- 
field.  —  Canterbury.  —  Shakers.  —  Pembroke.  —  Suncook  River.  —  Gilmanton.  — 
Barnstead.  —  Pittsfield.  —  Epsom.  —  Allenstown.  —  Contoocook  River.  —  Hillsboro'.  — 
Qov.  Pierce.  —  Henniker.  —  Washington,  etc.  —  Hopkinton. 

GILFORD,  on  the  lake  shore,  is  a  flourishing  town,  enterprising 
and  lively.  The  principal  village  is  on  the  falls  of  the  Winnipesau- 
kee  River,  and  is  largely  engaged  in  manufacturing.  The  extensive 
repair-shop  of  the  Boston,  Concord,  and  Montreal  Railroad  is  located 
here,  giving  profitable  employment  to  a  large  amount  of  superior 
mechanical  skill.  Besides  this  and  mills,  there  are  many  factories 
and  shops  for  various  manufacturing  and  mechanical  purposes. 
Several  large  islands  in  the  lake  belong  to  Gilford.  Gunstock 
Mountains,  a  range  of  considerable  elevation,  rising  in  Gilmanton, 
extend  into  this  town  almost  to  the  lake.  Gilford  was  originally  a 
part  of  Gilmanton,  and  was  incorporated  in  1812.  It  is  one  of  the 
most  flourishing  towns  in  the  State.  Two  streams  enter  the  lake 
from  this  town,  namely,  Gunstock  and  Miles  Rivers. 

Alton,  on  the  south  side  of  the  lake,  was  incorporated  a  little  more 
than  seventy  years  since.  It  was  formerly  called  New  Durham 
Gore,  and  received  its  present  name  from  one  of  the  settlers,  —  being 
named  for  Alton  in  England.  Merry  Meeting  or  Alton  Bay  makes 
out  from  the  lake  about  seven  miles  into  this-  town,  and  receives 
Merry  Meeting  River.  Mt.  Major  and  Prospect  Hill  are  the  princir 
pal  elevations;  from  the  latter,  the  Atlantic  is  visible  in.  clear 
weather. 

The  Cochecho  River  has  its  source  just  north  of  here,  almost  on 
the  margin  of  the  lake,  and  is  a  rapid  and  important  stream  ;  flowing 
south-east  it  is  caught  at  Dover,  and  bound  for  the  use  and  benefit  of 
man.  The  Cochecho  railroad  has  its  terminus  at  Alton,  and  moun- 
tain travel  from  Boston,  via  Boston  and  Maine  Railroad  to  Dover 
and  the  Cochecho  to  the  lake,  finds  an  easy  and  expeditious  route  to 


148  THE  MERRIMACK  E1VER; 

% 

the  magnificent  scenery  of  Lake  Winnipesaukee  and  its  borders, 
as  well  as  a  short  and  convenient  thoroughfare  to  the  White  and 
Franconia  Mountains. 

Smith's  Pond,  a  collection  of  water  some  six  miles  long,  is  the 
source  of  a  stream  called  Smith's  River,  which  falls  into  the  lake  in 
Wolfboro'.  There  is  a  fine  village  on  this  stream  overlooking  the 
lake  and  surrounding  mountains,  affording  a  prospect  grand  in  the 
extreme. 

Copple  Crown  Mountain  also  affords  a  remarkable  view,  —  the  lake 
and  its  gems  of  islands ;  about  thirty  other  lakes  and  ponds  in  New 
Hampshire  and  Maine ;  all  the  south-eastern  part  of  the  State ;  the 
grand  hill  to  the  west  far  up  into  the  Pemigewasset  country ;  and  to 
the  north  the  collection  of  hills  as  far  as  Mount  Washington,  whose 
grizzled  summit  towers  up  and  overlooks  the  heads  -of  all  his  fellows. 
All  these  combined  are  not  excelled  in  picturesque  and  romantic 
grandeur. 

There  is  a  mineral  spring  in  the  town  said  to  be  similar  and  equal 
to  the  celebrated  Saratoga,  and  is  becoming  a  place  of  considerable 
resort.  There  is  an  excellent  high  school,  and  many  other  features 
important  and  attractive,  and  the  trip  among  the  beautiful  and  sub- 
lime scenery  of  New  Hampshire  has  come  to  be  regarded  as  incom- 
plete, unless  it  includes  Wolfboro' ;  and  the  crowning  loveliness  of  this 
portion  of  the  tour  culminates  in  a  moonlight  excursion  on  the  lake. 

Tuftonborough,  situated  at  the  north-east  extremity  of  the  lake,  was 
originally  granted  to  John  Tufton,  grandson  of  John  Mason, 
governor,  who,  in  his  will,  made  John  and  Robert  Tufton  heirs  of 
his  estates  in  New  Hampshire,  in  consideration  that  they  should 
assume  the  name  of  Mason ;  which  requirement  they  complied  with, 
and  the  name  of  John  Tufton  Mason  is  still  legible  in  the  old  bury  ing- 
ground  near  .Christian  Shore,  in  Portsmouth. 

In  several  towns  in  this  section  of  the  State  terms  are  used  to 
designate  many  localities,  which,  though  they  may  not  be  euphonious, 
are  considered  peculiarly  appropriate  and  descriptive ;  for  instance, 
a  certain  locality  is  known  as  "  Barvel  Whang,"  others  as  "  Mackerel 
Corner,"  "  Skunk's  Misery,"  "  Potatoborough,"  "  Ossipee Pocket;" 
another  is  "  Grasshopper's  Grief,"  where  it  is  said  the- soil  is  so  desti- 
tute of  vegetation  that  a  pair  of  them  would  starve  on  a  ten-acre 
lot  without  cut  feed  and  meal  at  least  once  a  day. 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TEIBUTARIES.  149 

Fangs  or  lagoons  of  the  lake  extend  into  this  town  long  distances 
in  various  directions,  which  are  a  paradise  for  pickerel,  making  this 
one  of  the  best  places  for  summer  pickerel  fishing  in  the  State. 
Splendid  views  are  obtained  from  many  points  in  Tuftonborough,  of 
scenery  as  wild,  romantic  and  diversified  as  any  in  New  Hampshire, 
though  less  extensive.  From  many  of  the  eminences  the  prospect 
is  charming  ;  lagoons  and  estuaries  of  the  great  lake  creeping  quietly 
through  narrow  channels,  hidden  by  luxuriant  foliage,  now  reappear 
behind  the  intervening  hills,  and  expand  into  broad  sheets  of  water, 
or,  following  the  natural  depressions  of  the  surface,  take  strange,  fan- 
tastic shapes,  presenting  the  appearance  of  an  extensive  system  of 
ponds,  with  the  great  lake  in  the  background  stretching  away  to  the 
south  until  lost  to  view  among  the  numerous  islands. 

Meredith  is  on  1jb.e  west  side  of  Lake  Winnipesaukee.  Meredith 
Village  is  beautifully  and  pleasantly  located  on  a  brook,  which  is  the 
outlet  of  Goose  or  Measley  Pond,  which  here  falls  into  the  lake. 
The  soil  is  excellent,  and  few  towns  in  the  State  excel  it  in  the 
extent  and  variety  of  agricultural  productions. 

The  road  from  Laconia  to  Centre  Harbor  runs*  principally  through 
the  town,  and  is  a  delightful  drive  ;  throughout  the  whole  distance  it 
follows  the  trend  of  the  lake,  which  on  the  right  stretches  far  away 
among  the  green  islands  until  it  is  shut  out  from  view  by  the  luxuriance 
of  their  foliage ;  while  on  the  other  hand  the  neat  farm-houses,  the 
broad  fields  of  corn  and  waving  grain,  and  mowing-fields,  the  flocks 
and  herds  grazing  on  the  green  hill-sides,  the  great  mountains 
towering  up  in  all  the  surrounding  background,  the  graceful  steamers 
threading  the  mazy  labyrinths  among  the  isles,  "  walking  the  waters 
like  a  thing  of  life,"  while  the  gentle  zephyrs  lightly  ripple  the 
broad  surface  of  the  lake,  —  all  combined  in  one  grand  sweep  of  the 
vision  over  the  surrounding  country,  affords  a  scene  which  all  can 
enjoy,  but  none  describe. 

Just  here  is  the  famous  ahquedauken,  or  weirs,  where  the  Indians 
took  their  food  from  the  countless  myriads  of  shad  which  crowded 
annually  to  and  from  the  lake,  the  outlet,  the  Winnipesaukee  River. 

Dudley  Leavitt,  the  celebrated  "  Old  Farmer's  Almanac  "  maker, 
lived  and  died  in  this  town. 

Sanbornton  is  a  smart,  thrifty  town,  situated  on  the  Great  Bay,  or 
large  body  of  water  which  receives  and  discharges  the  Winnir  esaukee, 


150  THE  MEEEIMACK  KIVEE; 

or  perhaps  may  be  called  an  enlargement  of  that  river.  It  is  noted 
for  the  high  character  of  its  schools,  for  its  general  thrift,  for  its 
mechanical  and  manufacturing  resources,  and  for  its  natural  curios- 
ities. 

One  of  these  is  a  gulf  broad  and  deep,  extending  nearly  a  mile 
through  hard,  rocky  earth.  It  is  thirty-eight  feet  deep,  and  varies 
from  eighty  to  one  hundred  feet  in  width,  the  walls  corresponding 
so  accurately  as  to  present  the  appearance  of  having  been  rent  asunder 
by  some  convulsion  of  nature.  A  cavern  is  also  pointed  out,  extend- 
ing horizontally  some  twenty-five  or  thirty  feet  into  the  earth,  and 
is  as  likely  a  receptacle  for  Kidd's  treasure  or  rattlesnakes  as  many 
others  mentioned. 

Near  the  head  of  Little  Bay,  on  the  Winnipesaukee,  are  the  almost 
obliterated  remains  of  an  old  fortress.  It  was  evidently  constructed 
by  the  Indians,  and  is  a  very  ancient  affair :  relics  of  the  aboriginal 
garrison  have  often  been  found  in  the  vicinity. 

It  was  believed  that  this  was  an  important  post  on  the  great  thor- 
oughfare on  the  line  of  the  trail  from  the  Pennacook  Confederacy 
along  the  lower  Merrimack  to  Lake  Winnipesaukee,  branching  east- 
ward to  the  Pequaiiket  country  and  the  Amariscoggin,  and  westward 
by  the  head-waters  of  the  Merrimack  and  the  Connecticut  to  the  St. 
Francis. 

At  the  time  the  Sanborns  and  others  came  here  to  settle,  the  walls 
of  this  fortification  were  four  or  five  feet  high,  and  large  forest-trees 
were  growing  within  the  enclosure,  which  gives  to  the  ruins  an  air 
of  antiquity.  Pottery,  tobacco,  pipes,  warlike  and  agricultural 
implements  are  among  the  trophies  obtained  by  the  ploughshare  and 
the  curiosity-seeker.  This  fortification  is  described  as  having  con- 
sisted of  six  walls,  one  extending  along  the  river  and  across  a  point 
of  land  into  the  bay,  and  the  others  at  right  angles,  connected  by  a 
circular  wall  in  the  rear.  Who  shall  say  what  terrible  sieges  this 
Malakoff  of  the  wilderness  has  stood,  what  bombardments  of  arrows, 
what  terrific  attacks  by  water  of  some  primitive  Drake  with  his  fleet 
of  birch  canoes,  what  heroic  sorties  with  the  death-dealing  war-club 
and  tomahawk,  or  the  unconditional  surrender,  and  the  torture  ! 

Gone,  all  gone,  the  barbarian  actors  in  these  rude  conflicts,  and 
records  written  in  the  sand  or  on  the  forest-tree,  swept  into  the  deep 
and  wide  grave  of  oblivion  together,  the  few  scanty  records  preserved 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  151 

having  be^n  rescued  from  the  rubbish  of  uncertain  tradition  by  the 
untiring,  earnest,  and  generous  efforts  of  the  learned  and  thought- 
ful of  another  race  of  men,  actuated  perhaps  more  by  a  love  of 
knowledge  than  of  the  race  whose  career  they  chronicle  ! 

Sometime  about  1746  or  1747,  Col.  Atkinson's  force,  near  the 
outlet  of  the  Winnipesaukee,  built  a  strong  fort  for  the  protection 
of  the  exposed  settlements  on  the  Merrimack,  and  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  State.  Some  authorities  have  it  that  the  fort  at 
the  head  of  Little  Bay,  which  was  generally  supposed  to  be  an 
undoubted  relic  of  Indian  engineering,  skill,  and  labor,  was  con- 
structed by  this  force  while  stationed  there.  The  Winnipesaukee 
River  passes  through  Northfield,  having  in  it  falls  that  afford  the 
best  of  water-power,  and  are  used  for  manufacturing,  there  being  cot- 
ton and  woollen  mills  and  shops  on  them  used  for  various  purposes. 

The  New  Hampshire  Conference  Seminary,  an  extensive  and 
flourishing  Methodist  literary  institution,  is  pleasantly  located  on 
a  slight  elevation,  a  short  distance  from,  and  overlooking,  the  river, 
and  one  eighth  of  a  mile  from  Sanbornton  Bridge.  It  possesses  a 
valuable  and  extensive  chemical  and  philosophical  apparatus,  and  its 
collection  of  mineral  specimens  is  large.  This  school  is  very  pleas- 
antly situated,  its  concomitants  being  a  surrounding  of  charming 
scenery,  a  desirable  quiet,  economy  of  living,  and  a  profitable  and 
thorough  system  of  instruction.  Young  gentlemen  may  here  re- 
ceive training  of  a  high  and  enduring  character. 

The  Winnipesaukee  River,  in  its  short  career  from  the  "weirs" 
in  Meredith  to  its  confluence  with  the  Pemigewasset,  just  below 
Webster's  Falls  in  Franklin,  is  an  exceedingly  ornamental  stream, 
and  useful  for  many  purposes  not  enumerated,  but  especially  so  in 
its  many  mill  privileges.  The  entire  fall  of  this  stream  from  the 
"  weirs  "  to  Franklin  is  nearly  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  two  hun- 
dred of  this  being  within  four  miles  of  its  junction  with  the  Pemige- 
wasset in  Franklin.  When  it  is  considered  that  the  identity  of  the 
river  proper  is  lost,  for  ten  miles  of  its  course,  in  the  great  bay 
lying  between  its  source,  the  lake,  and  the  forks  of  the  Merrimack, 
it  will  be  seen  that  it  has  no  mean  capacity  for  manufacturing  pur- 
poses, and  that  this  power  is  already  quite  extensively  employed, 
with  a  still  greater  chance  remaining  to  be  some  day  more  exten- 
sively operated. 


152  THE  MERRIMACK  EIVER; 

Canterbury  suffered  severely  from  Indian  depredations.  So  con- 
stantly did  the  enemy  lurk  about  the  town  that  the  fields  were 
cleared  and  tilled  under  the  protection  of  a  strong  armed  guard. 
In  the  year  1738,  two  men,  named  Shepard  and  Blanchard,  were 
surprised  by  a  party  of  seven  Indians,  who  fired  upon  them,  the  first 
time  without  effect,  when  the  two  returned  the  fire,  and  Shepard 
escaped,  but  Blanchard  was  mortally  wounded  and  captured,  and 
died  in  a  few  days.  They  also  captured  a  lad  named  Jackson, 
and  a  negro  servant  belonging  to  Thomas  Clough,  and  carried  them 
to  Canada,  where  they  remained  till  the  close  of  the  French  and 
Indian  war  in  1749. 

In  1752,  two  Indians,  named  Sabatis  and  Christi,  came  into  the 
town,  and,  behaving  friendly,  were  kindly  treated,  but  after  staying 
several  weeks  they  suddenly  left,  taking  with  them,  forcibly,  two 
negroes.  One  of  these  escaped;  the  other  was  taken  to  Crown 
Point,  and  sold  to  an  officer.  The  following  year  Sabatis  returned 
to  Canterbury  with  a  companion  called  Plausawa.  The  former,  on 
being  remonstrated  with  for  his  past  conduct,  became  exceedingly 
insolent,  and,  probably  on  account  of  being  intoxicated,  displayed 
a  wild  and  threatening  demeanor.  They  were  followed  and  killed 
by  some  persons  heedless  of  the  injunction,  "  Vengeance  is  mine." 
These  persons  were  arrested,  ironed,  and  committed  to  jail ;  but  the 
night  previous  to  the  trial  a  mob  gathered,  with  crowbars,  axes, 
and  bludgeons,  rescued  them,  and  "Lo,  the  poor  Indian"  got  no 
redress. 

Shaker  Village,  built  along  the  summit  of  a  hill,  is  a  compact, 
tidy,  quiet,  methodical  community.  The  Shakers  are  a  sect  first 
known  in  this  country  just  previous  to  the  Revolution.  It  is 
believed  to  have  been  founded  by  Ann  Lee,  who  came  from  Eng- 
land. The  first  society  known  in  this  country  was  established  at 
New  Lebanon,  in  New  York,  about  1780  ;  and  this  one  was  organ- 
ized two  or  three  years  later  through  the  labors  of  two  elders  named 
Chauncy  and  Cooley. 

The  society  occupy  a  large  tract  of  land,  nearly  three  thousand 
acres,  which  is  owned  and  the  labor  performed  in  common.  The 
buildings  and  the  table  are  common.  In  short,  most  matters  are 
common  with  them,  while  in  others  they  regard  themselves  as  mar- 
vellously proper.  They  consider  that  they  are  devoting  their  time, 


ITS  SOUECE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  153 

their  toil,  and  their  accumulations  to  the  service  of  the  Lord.  Their 
work,  farming,  mechanical,  and  manufacturing,  is  always  done  in 
the  proper  season  and  manner,  thorough,  but  in  no  sense  wasteful. 
Their  workshop  and  mills  are  models  of  neatness  and  convenience, 
peculiarly  adapted  by  arrangement  and  fixtures  to  the  kind  of  busi- 
ness carried  on ;  their  implements  of  the  most  improved  pattern  and 
material.  The  consequence  of  this  thoroughness  is,  the  Shaker 
products  are  sought  at  the  highest  prices.  Agricultural  imple- 
ments, kitchen  furniture,  cloths,  flannels,  hose,  herbs,  and  every- 
thing they  have  to  sell  find  a  ready  market. 

The  laundry  and  dairy  are  arranged  so  conveniently  and  comfort- 
ably, that  it  seems  as  much  pleasure  to  do  the  work  as  to  see  it 
done.  A  stationary  engine  does  all  the  work  of  lifting,  lowering, 
turning,  washing,  ironing,  drying,  churning,  etc.,  and  everything 
may  be  said  to  be  done  literally  like  clock-work,  as  they  design 
each  room  shall  be  supplied  with  a  clock,  there  being  some  hundred 
in  the  various  rooms  in  the  village.  There  is  also  a  large  bell, 
which  calls  the  community  to  labor,  meals,  school,  and  devotion. 

The  Shaker  barn  is  said  to  be  the  largest  and  best-arranged  struc- 
ture of  the  kind  in  the  State.  It  holds  from  five  to  six  hundred 
tons  of  hay,  besides  grain  and  other  produce;  two  stables,  each 
accommodating  fifty  cows,  which  are  allowed  to  go  in  promiscuously, 
each  knowing  its  name  and  stall,  and  all  tied  and  untied  by  a  slight 
and  simple  movement  of  a  lever.  There  are  also  calf-pens,  sheep- 
pens,  places  for  sick  animals,  and  the  live  stock  of  the  Shakers  here 
find  a  hotel  and  hospital  combined.  The  barn  is  surmounted  by 
a  cupola,  from  which  a  good  view  of  all  the  surrounding  country  is 
obtained. 

They  maintain  a  kitchen-garden  of  two  or  three  acres,  luxuriant 
with  almost  every  variety  of  fruit  and  vegetables  known  to  this 
latitude,  with  which  their  table  in  the  season  is  bountifully  supplied, 
they  selling  only  what  they  cannot  consume ;  and  strangers  are  often 
supplied  here  with  meals,  always  substantial  and  good,  at  a  price 
never  exceeding  prime  cost. 

They  do  not  believe  in,  or  practise  marriage  at  all,  and  regard 

Brigham  Young  with  a  feeling  of  abhorrence  which  language  is 

inadequate  to  express ;  still  instances  have  occurred  where  a  brother 

and  sister  have  come  to  an  understanding,  either  by  translating  the 

20 


154  THE  MEREIMACK  RIVER; 

silent  but  unmistakable  language  of  love,  or  by  surreptitiously  ob- 
taining an  interview,  and  eloped,  leaving  their  undivided  interest  in 
the  society  for  their  interest  in  each  other. 

The  social  theory  and  practice  of  the  Shakers  may  be  the  correct 
one.  Probably  no  one  ever  expressed  or  entertained  a  desire  to 
interfere  with  their  faith  or  practice ;  but  there  are  those  who  regard 
it  as  simply  absurd ;  while  it  is  thought  there  are  still  many  others 
who  would  remain  unregenerated  heathen,  preferring  to  take  their 
chance  both  in  this  world  and  the  world  to  come,  than  be  born 
again  under  the  dispensation  of  Shaker  Christianity  without  this 
dogma  being  expunged. 

The  Shakers  are  plain  in  language,  manner,  and  dress,  indus- 
trious, temperate,  and  healthy.  Shaker  Village  seems  a  beehive 
where  all  are  busy.  Some  one  has  said,  —  no  doubt  a  slander,  — 
that  implements  in  the  hands  of  the  Shaker,  whatever  may  be  their 
design,  are  used  to  kill  time ;  that  his  life  is  aimless ;  that  he  has 
no  aspirations  beyond  his  individual  comfort ;  that  he  is  destitute 
of  the  incentive  to  energy,  enterprise,  and  ambition ;  in  brief,  that 
he  is  in  the  social  order  a  nondescript ;  in  religion  a  perpetual 
penance-doer;  and  in  community  a  nonentity;  in  conversation 
"  their  yea  is  yea,  and  their  nay  nay."  No  one  can  dispute  the 
fact  that  they  are  excellent  citizens,  conforming  to  all  the  require- 
ments of  citizenship,  except  military  drill,  —  eschewing  this  as  well 
as  marriage  as  a  part  of  their  religion ;  and,  taken  as  a  whole,  they 
are  utilitarians  enough  to  do  as  little  harm  in  the  world  as  possible, 
even  though  they  may  not  do  all  the  good  they  ought  or  might. 

The  surface  of  Pembroke  is  undulating.  Its  principal  village, 
parallel  with  the  Merrimack  River,  is  five  miles  from  Concord  on  an 
elevated  ridge,  and  is  between  three  and  four  miles  long.  Pembroke 
Academy,  which  has  long  been  famous  as  one  of  the  foremost  educa- 
tional institutions  in  the  State,  is  on  this  street.  A  large  tract  of 
territory,  embracing  this  town,  was  formerly  known  as  Suncook,  and 
was  granted,  under  this  name,  by  Massachusetts,  in  1727,  to  Captain 
Lovewell  and  his  band  of  Indian  fighters,  sixty  in  number,  three- 
fourths  of  whom  accompanied  him  in  his  last  fatal  expedition  against 
Pequauket.  On  May  1st,  1748,  James  Carr,  of  this  town,  was 
killed  by  the  Indians.  Pembroke  was  incorporated  under  its  pres- 
ent name  in  1759. 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TEIBUTAEIES.  155 

The  Suncook  River  is  an  important  though  not  large  tributary  of 
the  Merrimack.  Its  source  is  a  pond  on  the  summit  of  one  of  the 
Suncook  mountains,  —  a  chain  of  high  hills  located  in  Gilmanton,  and 
running  north  and  south  through  that  town.  This  pond  is  located 
about  one  thousand  feet  above  the  base  of  the  mountain,  and  its 
outlet,  on  descending,  falls  into  another  pond;  from  thence  into  still 
another,  from  which  it  emerges,  and  receives,  in  its  course,  many 
tributaries.  This  river  is  very  rapid,  affording  numerous  fine  mill 
privileges  along  its  whole  course. 

Gilmanton,  where  the  source  of  the  river  is  located,  also  gives 
rise  to  the  Suncook,  and  beside  these  is  watered  by  the  Winni- 
pesaukee.  This  was  formerly  a  very  large  township,  extending 
northward  to  the  shores  of  the  Winnipesaukee,  but  has,  from  time  to 
time,  been  shorn  of  its  extensive  proportions,  the  towns  of  Guilford 
and  Upper  Gilmanton  having  been  carved  out  of  its  original  terri- 
tory. Iron  ore  was  at  one  time  obtained  in  considerable  quanti- 
ties, and  iron  works  were  established. 

Academy  Village  is  a  very  beautiful  and  unusually  pleasant 
place.  The  soil  is  very  fertile,  and  in  a  high  state  of  cultivation ; 
the  dwellings  spacious  and  neat ;  the  people  enterprising,  thrifty,  and 
intelligent,  —  the  facilities  afforded  by  the  Gilmanton  Academy  being 
ample. 

"  Porcupine  Hill  is  a  remarkably  abrupt  .precipice  of  granite, 
gneiss,  and  mica  slate  rock,  which  form,  by  their  overhanging  strata 
and  deep  ravines,  a  pleasant  and  favorite  resort  of  the  students  of 
Gilmanton  Academy,  -  an  old  and  highly  respectable  institution  of 
learning.  Below  this  steep  precipice  is  a  deep  and  shady  dell,  thickly 
clad  with  a  dark  evergreen  foliage  of  forest-trees,  while  the  rocks 
are  wreathed  in  rich  profusion  by  curious  and  beautiful  lichens  or 
mosses.  Wild  plants  are  abundant  and  various.  . 

"  Gilmanton  Academy  was  incorporated  October  13,  1762."  * 

The  town  was  granted,  in  1727,  to  one  hundred  and  seventy-six 
persons,  twenty-four  of  whom  were  named  Gilman,  but  the  settle- 
ment was  delayed  for  many  years  on  account  of  the  hostility  of  the 
Indians.  In  1761,  Benjamin  and  John  Mudgett,  with  their  fami- 
lies, settled  here,  and  Dorothy  Weed  was  the  first  white  child  born 

*  "  New  Hampshire  As  It  Is." 


156  THE  MER1UMACK  RIVEE; 

in  Gilmanton.  Hon.  William  Badger,*  formerly  Governor  of  New 
Hampshire,  was  a  native  and  resident  of  this  place. 

The  Suncook  River  takes  a  south-east  course  through  Gilmanton 
Village,  passing  into  Barnstead,  which  is  a  thriving  town,  almost 
wholly  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits.  The  township  was  granted, 
in  1727,  to  Rev.  Joseph  Adams  and  others,  but  its  settlement  was 
delayed  nearly  forty  years.  It  lies  in  gentle,  grand,  and  sometimes 
abrupt  undulations,  and  is  dotted  with  several  fine  ponds,  which 
discharge  their  waters  into  the  Suncook  River.  The  largest  of 
these  are  the  two  Suncooks,  near  together,  Half  Moon  and  Brin- 
dle. 

The  variety  of  minerals  yet  discovered  is  not  extensive.  Yellow 
ochre,  iron,  plumbago,  and  specimens  of  basaltic  trap-rock  are 
among  the  number. 

Barnstead  was  incorporated  in  1767.  In  1807,  a  very  useful  insti- 
tution was  organized  and  incorporated,  called  the  "  Social  Library," 
which  is  still  in  a  flourishing  condition,  and  is  a  source  of  great 
benefit  to  the  citizens,  who  are  unusually  intelligent  and  well- 
informed.  From  this  town,  the  Suncook,  much  increased  in  volume, 
passes  into  Pittsfield,  where  it  furnishes  many  excellent  mill  privi- 
ileges. 

Pittsfield,  though  not  yet  a  century  old,  is  a  populous  and  flour- 
ishing town,  which  is  mainly  due  to  the  water-power  of  the  Suncook, 
the  surface  of  the  town  being  mountainous  and  broken.  Pittsfield 
Village  is  located  in  a  deep  valley,  and  is  surrounded  by  high  wooded 
hills,  — a  picturesque  and  romantic  scene.  The  village  is  large  and 
lively,  surpassing  most  inland  towns  destitute  of  railroad  facilities. 
Activity  and  business  are  its  concomitants,  and  when  the  railroad, 
now  in  contemplation,  is  completed  to  Manchester,  furnishing  easy 
and  rapid  communication  with  the  outside  world,  Pittsfield  will  at 
once  become  an  important  town.  It  has  a  cotton  manufactory,  em- 
ploying nearly  two  hundred  hands,  with  a  capital  of  two  hundred 
thousand  dollars. 

Catamount  Mountain  is  situated  in  Pittsfield,  and  is  fifteen  hun- 
dred feet  high.  The  view  from  its  summit  is  extensive  and  grand ; 

*  Gov.  Badger's  widow  is  still  living.  She  resides  in  Upper  Gilmanton,  and,  though 
leventy-eight  years  of  age,  traces  of  those  attractions  of  mind  and  person,  which  distin- 
guished the  noble  dames  of  a  past  age,  still  exist. 


* 

ITS  SOUECE  AND  ITS  TEIBUTAEIES.  157 

the  bro&  1  Atlantic  is  plainly  seen,  as  well  as  islands,  headlands,  and 
the  great  circle  of  mountains,  extending  from  Agamenticus  in  Maine, 
to  the  White  Hills  on  the  north,  and  the  high  summits  on  the  west, 
including  the  grand  Monadnock.  There  is  a  fine  sheet  of  water  on 
the  mountain,  which  is  about  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  rods  long, 
fed  by  springs.  There  are  other  ponds  in  the  town,  and  from  Wild 
Goose  Pond  bog  iron  ore  has  been  taken  in  large  quantities.  There 
is  also  a  mineral  spring,  the  impregnation  being  a  compound  of  sul- 
phur and  chalybeate.  There  are  many  peat  meadows,  some  of 
which  have  been  reclaimed,  and  are  remarkably  productive.  In 
some  parts  of  the  town  the  magnetic  needle  shows  considerable  vari- 
ation, which  is  attributed  to  the  proximity  of  minerals  in  large 
masses ;  black  tourmaline  and  magnetic  iron  ore  have  been  found  in 
several  places.  Tourmaline  is  usually  found  in  hexagonal  or  triangu- 
lar prisms,  terminated  by  three-sided  pyramids,  —  black,  but  some- 
times green,  blue,  red,  and  brown.  It  was  formally  known  under 
.the  name  of  schorl ;  and  its  crystals,  when  heated,  are  remarka- 
ble for  exhibiting  electric  polarity,  —  attracting  and  repelling  the 
needle. 

There  is  a  society  of  Friends  in  Pittsfield,  who  have  a  meeting- 
house, and  maintain  regular  public  religious  worship. 

Epsom  was  granted,  in  1727,  to  Theodore  Atkinson  and  others, 
and,  like  many  other  towns  whose  names  are  not  of  Indian 
origin,  was  named  for  a  place  of  the  same  name  in  England.  The 
town  is  well  watered  by  great  and  little  Suncook  Rivers  and  many 
smaller  streams.  There  are  also  three  ponds  in  the  town. 

McKoy  is  the  highest  elevation,  and  derives  its  name  from  Mrs. 
McKoy,  who  was  taken  captive  by  the  Indians  in  1747,  and  did  not 
return  till  after  the  close  of  the  French  and  Indian  War. 

The  soil  of  Epsom  contains  several  minerals,  some  of  them  rare ; 
brown  oxide,  sulphuret  of  iron  (copperas),  terra  sienna,  mineral 
paint,  —  an  alluvial  deposit,  —  arsenical  pyrites,  silver  mixed,  or 
argentiferous  galena,  and  hydrated  oxide  of  iron,  mixed  with  crystal- 
lized quartz. 

On  receiving  the  news  of  the  battles  of  Lexington  and  Concord, 
twelve  hundred  of  the  sturdy  yeomanry  of  New  Hampshire  hastened 
to  Boston.  Among  them  was  Major  McClary,  of  Epsom,  who  fell  in 
the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  while  gallantly  fighting  for  his  country. 


158  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

Allenstown,  on  the  Suncook  River,  was  granted  in  1731.  In 
1748,  as  Mr.  Buntin,  his  son,  and  James  Carr  were  at  work  on  the 
west  side  of  the  Merrimack,  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Suncook, 
they  were  set  upon  by  Indians,  and  Carr,  attempting  to  escape,  was 
shot;  Buntin  and  his  son  were  made  captives  taken  to  Canada, 
and  sold,  but  made  their  escape,  and  returned  home  in  about  a 
year. 

Allenstown  was  not  incorporated  until  one  hundred  years  after  it 
was  granted.  Bear  Brook  is  a  large  stream,  and  furnishes  many 
mill  sites,  and  is  one  of  the  most  famous  trout  brooks  in  this  section 
of  the  State,  furnishing  good  fishing-ground  —  with  its  tributaries  — 
some  thirty  miles  in  extent.  Suncook  River  divides  this  town  from 
Pembroke,  and  has  a  splendid  water-power  at  the  village,  which 
takes  the  name  of  the  river  not  far  from  its  confluence  with  the 
Merrimack.  It  seems  to  be  a  well-established  fact,  that  clearing  the 
lands  has  diminished  the  size  of  the  rivers,  and  that  those  in  New 
Hampshire  are  small  now  compared  to  what  they  were  previous  to, 
its  settlement.  A  proof  of  this  may  be  deduced  from  an  extract  of 
the  address  of  Gov.  Wentworth  to  the  Legislature  in  1746. 

"  After  the  mischief  was  done  by  the  Indians  at  New  Hopkin- 
ton,  the  inhabitants  of  Canterbury  were  in  the  utmost  distress,  for 
a  great  number  of  the  inhabitants,  .  .  .  then  in  the  woods,  which 
occasioned  an  alarm  in  that  quarter ;  and  being  apprehensive  the 
enemy  had  besieged  that  garrison,  I  ordered  a  detachment  of  Capt. 
Odlin's  and  Capt.  Hanson's  horse  to  march  out  to  their  relief.  For 
want  of  a  bridge  on  Suncook  River,  both  detachments  were  obliged 
to  march  more  than  double  the  distance,  and  as  Canterbury  is  the 
only  magazine  for  provision  on  our  frontiers,  I  hope  you  will  think 
it  worth  your  consideration,  that  a  bridge  be  built  here  as  soon  as 
the  weather  will  admit  of  it." 

It  will  be  seen  that  a  century  since,  when  the  country  of  the 
Suncook  and  its  branches  was  an  unbroken  wilderness,  cavalry 
troops  were  forced  to  make  a  wide  circuit  towards  its  source  to  find 
a  fording-place.  Now,  however,  there  is  scarcely  a  point  in  its 
whole  course  where  an  athletic  youth  of  fifteen  could  not  ford  it, 
except  at  times  of  high  freshets. 

The  mills  on  the  Suncook,  a  short  distance  from  its  confluence 
with  the  Merrimack,  obtain  their  motive  power  from  the  former 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  159 

stream.  The  fall,  at  this  place,  is  picturesque,  romantic,  and  grand  ; 
the  height  being  ample ;  but  in  dry  seasons  the  volume  of  water  be- 
comes much  attenuated.  There  are  three  corporations  at  this  place, 
known  as  the  Pembroke,  capital  five  hundred  thousand  dollars; 
Webster,  capital  five  hundred  thousand  dollars ;  China,  capital  one 
million  dollars.  Garvin's  Falls,  a  short  distance  above  Suncook,  on 
the  Merrimack,  are  considered  available  for  manufacturing  purposes, 
having  a  perpendicular  fall  of  twenty-eight  feet,  fully  equal  to  that 
at  Lawrence,  and  the  time  may  come  when  a  flourishing  manufac- 
turing city  will  cluster  around  this  waterfall.  Should  this  be  the 
case,  and  should  Bewail' s  Falls,  in  the  north  part  of  Concord,  be 
improved,  the  result  would  be  an  unbroken  city,  stretching  along 
the  Merrimack,  on  both  sides,  from  Fisherville  on  the  Contocook,  to 
the  Suncook,  a  distance  of  fifteen  miles,  and  even  to  Hooksett,  a 
smart  manufacturing  village  two  miles  farther  down  the  Merri- 
mack. 

The  Contoocook  River,  a  very  considerable  tributary  of  the 
Merrimack,  has  its  principal  sources  on  the  height  of  land  between 
the  waters  of  the  Connecticut  and  Merrimack  Rivers  in  Rindge 
and  Jaffrey,  Cheshire  County.  In  the  town  of  Dublin,  which  is 
also  located  on  this  elevated  ridge,  one  of  the  churches  sheds 
the  rain  on  one  side  into  the  Ashuelot,  and  thence  into  the  Connect- 
icut, while  the  other  side  is  drained  through  the  Contoocook  into  the 
Merrimack. 

The  Contoocook  has  its  course  through  a  portion  of  three  coun- 
ties, and  is  a  very  important  stream,  whether  we  consider  the  large 
tract  of  territory  watered  by  itself  and  numerous  affluents,  the  great 
amount  of  excellent  farming  lands  which  border  it,  or  the  many 
mill  privileges,  some  of  them  very  superior  ones,  it  furnishes  along 
the  line  of  the  main  stream  and  its  branches.  It  flows  in  a  general 
north-east  direction,  and,  passing  out  of  Hillsboro',  enters  Merrimack 
County  at  Henniker,  pursuing  its  way  through  several  important 
towns,  and  receiving  the  valuable  accession  of  Warner  and  Black- 
water  rivers  in  Hopkinton.  It  now  becomes  a  large  stream,  and 
falls  into  the  Merrimack  at  the  south-east  angle  of  the  town  of  Bos- 
cawen,  being  the  division  line  between  Concord  and  the  above-named 
town. 

Hillsboro'  has  a  very  uneven  surface ;  the  soil,  however,  is  gener- 


160  THE  MERRIMACK  EIVEE; 

ally  strong  and  productive.  It  was  originally  settled,  in  1741,  by 
James  McCalley  and  others,  and  was  called  township  number  seven. 
The  wife  of  McCalley  was  the  only  woman  in  the  settlement  the 
first  year.  Three  years  after  this  settlement  was  made,  it  was 
abandoned  on  account  of  the  French  War,  and  was  afterwards  grant- 
ed by  the  Masonian  proprietors  to  Colonel  John  Hill,  of  Boston,  who, 
with  others,  settled  it  in  1757,  and  from  him  received  its  present 
name,  being  incorporated  in  1772.  The  principal  pond,  which  is 
not  large,  bears  the  name  of  one  of  the  original  settlers,  and  is 
called  Lyon's  Pond. 

This  town  is  amply  watered  by  Contoocook  and  Hillsboro'  Rivers, 
and  many  other  smaller  streams,  furnishing  mill-sites  with  good 
power,  which  are  improved,  several  kinds  of  mechanical  works  being 
carried  on,  as  well  as  manufacturing  in  a  small  way.  The  largest 
is  a  cotton-mill,  which  has  sometimes  employed  as  many  as  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  persons.  Veins  of  plumbago  of  remarkable  purity 
have  been  found  and  worked  to  a  considerable  extent.  Hillsboro'  is 
in  many  respects  a  noted  town.  For  intelligence,  integrity,  indus- 
try, and  sobriety  it  is  believed  to  be  unsurpassed,  while  thrift  and 
general  content,  certain  to  be  evolved  from  this  favorable  condition 
of  society,  are  seen  on  every  hand. 

Hillsboro'  was  the  adopted  residence  of  Benjamin  Pierce,  who  was 
born  in  Chelinsford.  Massachusetts,  in  1757.  He  was  the  son  of  a 
farmer,  and  lived  in  an  age  when  education  was  not  only  not  gener- 
ally diffused,  but  was  difficult  to  obtain  anywhere ;  and  in  a  land  so 
new  and  sparsely  settled  the  facilities  for  learning  were  slender  indeed. 

The  news  of  the  battle  of  Lexington  was  conveyed  to  him,  as  it 
was  to  others,  "by  the  man  on  horseback;"  and,  without  hesitation 
or  delay,  he  took  his  gun  and  started  immediately  on  foot  and  alone 
for  Lexington.  Finding  the  British  troops  retreating  on  Boston,  he 
fell  in  with  the  Provincials,  and  pursued  them  as  far  as  Cambridge, 
where  he  enlisted  for  the  war,  and  was  in  the  memorable  battle  of 
Bunker  Hill,  and  in  active  service  until  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary 
War,  having  risen,  by  promotion  for  gallant  and  meritorious  conduct, 
from  a  private  to  a  captaincy.  On  returning  to  peaceful  pursuits, 
after  nine  years  of  arduous  service  in  his  country's  cause,  he  found  the 
Continental  currency  so  depreciated  that  the  total  amount  of  his  pay 
was  not  sufficient  to  buy  a  farm :  consequently  he  again  took  up  the 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  161 

line  of  march  for  a  wilderness  country  where  land  was  so  cheap  as 
to  be  within  the  reach  of  his  slender  means,  and  located  in  Hills- 
boro'. 

Endowed  by  nature  with  superior  intellectual  abilities,  he  had,  by 
perseverance  in  watching  and  appropriating  every  opportunity,  over- 
come the  imperfections  of  his  education,  and  was  at  once  recognized 
as  one  of  its  ablest  and  most  intelligent  members  by  the  community 
in  which  he  lived.  He  did  not,  however,  retire  from  the  military 
service,  but  continued  to  serve  in  the  militia  for  many  years,  being 
at  one  time  colonel  of  the  famous  regiment  which  furnished  the  gal- 
lant McNeil  and  Miller  for  the  war  of  1812,  and  was  a  general  in 
the  State  militia  at  the  time  he  retired  from  the  service.  He  held 
many  civil  offices,  and  in  1818  was  elected  sheriff  of  the  county. 
Finding  several  poor  debtors  in  Amherst  jail,  one  of  them  having 
been  incarcerated  four  years  for  no  crime,  save  that  he  owed  a  debt 
which  he  could  not  pay,  kind-hearted  and  generous,  he  at  once 
paid  their  debts  and  liberated  them.  Addressing  them  briefly,  he 
said :  — 

' '  I  have  a  duty  to  perform.  I  must  either  be  governed  by  the 
law,  and  suffer  you  still  to  remain  the  devoted  victims  of  unavoidable 
misfortune  and  honest  poverty,  shut  out  from  the  genial  light  of 
heaven  and'  the  vital  air,  God's  equal  gift  to  all,  to  endure,  perhaps 
perish  under,  the  privation  incident  to  your  situation  and  the  stern 
ravages  of  approaching  winter,  forlorn  and  destitute,  with  no  friend 
to  comfort,  no  society  to  cheer,  no  companion  to  console  you ;  or  I 
must  be  directed  by  the  powerful  impulse  of  humanity,  pay  the  debt 
myself,  and  bid  you  leave  this  dreary  and  gloomy  abode.  My  unfor- 
tunate fellow-citizens,  my  duty  to  myself  will  not  suffer  longer  to 
remain  here  an  old  companion  in  arms,  who  fought  for  the  liberty 
of  which  he  is  deprived,  for  no  crime  but  that  of  being  poor.  .  . 

"In  this  view,  go;  receive  the  uncontaminated  air  which  is  dif- 
fused abroad  for  the  comfort  of  man ;  go  to  your  families  and  friends, 
if  you  have  any.  Be  correct  in  your  habits.  Be  industrious ;  and 
if  your  tottering  and  emaciated  frames  are  so  far  exhausted  as  to 
prevent  your  getting  comfortable  support,  apply  to  the  good  people 
for  relief.  And  may  the  best  of  Heaven's  blessings  accompany  you 
the  remainder  of  your  days." 

General  Pierce  was  elected  to  the  principal  offices  in  the  State, 
21 


162  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

which  he  filled  with  credit  to  himself  and  advantage  to  the  people. 
He  was  governor  in  1827,  and  again  in  1829.  Governor  Pierce 
was,  even  to  his  last  years,  remarkably  social  and  genial,  and  was, 
consequently,  a  companion  for  the  grave  and  gay  alike,  his  society 
being  sought  by  the  youthful  and  vivacious  as  well  as  the  sedate 
and  thoughtful. 

This  distinguished  man,  who  possessed  a  lofty  and  resolute  intel- 
lectual, and  rugged  physical  organization,  was  still  further  distin- 
guished by  being  the  father  of  one  of  the  Presidents  of  the  United 
States. 

"On  the  26th  of  December,  1825,  it  being  his  sixty-seventh 
birthday,  Gen.  Benjamin  Pierce  prepared  a  festival  for  his  comrades 
in  arms,  the  survivors  of  the  Revolution;  eighteen  of  them,  all  inhab- 
itants of  Hillsboro;,  assembled  at  his  house.  The  ages  of  these 
veterans  ranged  from  fifty-nine  up  to  the  patriarchal  venerableness 
of  nearly  ninety.  They  spent  the  day  in  festivity,  in  calling  up 
reminiscences  of  the  great  men  whom  they  had  known,  and  the  great 
deeds  they  had  helped  to  do,  and  in  reviving  the  old  sentiments  of  the 
era  of  seventy-six.  At  nightfall,  after  a  manly  and  pathetic  farewell 
from  their  host,  they  separated,  'prepared,'  as  the  old  general  ex- 
pressed it,  '  at  the  first  tap  of  the  shrouded  drum,  to  move  and  join 
their  beloved  Washington  and  the  rest  of  their  comrades  who  fought 
and  bled  at  their  sides.'  "  * 

He  died  in  1839,  at  the  mansion  in  Hillsboro',  which  had  suc- 
ceeded the  log  cabin,  on  the  very  spot,  now  blooming  and  adorned, 
where,  fifty  years  before,  his  sturdy  blows  first  made  a  clearing. 

The  late  Hon.  Chandler  E.  Potter  was  for  several  years  a  resident 
of  Hillsboro'.  Judge  Potter  was  for  many  years  justice  of  the  Po- 
lice Court  of  the  city  of  Manchester,  and  was,  perhaps,  more  thor- 
oughly versed  in  Indian  lore  and  history  than  any  other  man  in  New 
England,  if  not  in  the  country.  His  admirable  ' '  History  of  Man- 
chester" exhibits  a  vast  research  in  this,  as  well  as  in  history  proper, 
and  in  his  unexpected  decease  the  community  has  been  deprived  of  a 
historical  repository  as  extensive  and  varied  as  interesting  and  useful. 

Henniker  is  an  uneven  but  very  excellent  farming  town.  The 
hilly  lands  are  unusually  productive  in  the  way  of  cereals  and  graz- 
ing facilities ;  the  valleys,  meadows,  and  intervals  yielding  well  in 

*  Hawthorne. 


ITS  SOUBCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  ICil 

hay,  corn,  and  common  vegetable  products.  The  town  was  granted 
by  the  Masonian  proprietors,  under  the  name  of  "  Number  Six,"  to 
James  and  Robert  Wallace  and  others,  in  1752.  The  first  house, 
constructed  of  logs,  was  erected  in  1761  by  James  Peters,  who  was 
the  original  settler.  It  was  incorporated  in  1768,  receiving  its  pres- 
ent name  from  John  Henniker,  Esq.,  a  London  merchant,  who  was 
a  friend  of  Governor  Wentworth  and  a  member  of  Parliament. 

The  Contoocook  River,  which  in  its  course  through  several  towns 
is  so  winding  or  crooked  that  it  is  said  tp  "run  more  than  three 
times  its  length,"  passes  through  the  centre  of  the  town.  Besides 
machine  shops  there  are  mills  where  several  kinds  of  woollen  fabrics 
are  produced.  Craney  Hill  is  the  highest  elevation  of  land  in  the 
town.  On  the  summit  of  this  hill  is  a  large  boulder,  some  fifteen 
feet  in  diameter,  an  undoubted  deposit  of  the  ancient  glacial  drift, 
released  from  its  icy  embrace  by  contact  with  the  obtrusive  crown  of 
this  hill,  at  the  time  the  earth  was  being  evolved  from  a  submarine 
condition,  by  an  application  of  the  principle  of  hydrostatic  engineer- 
ing power  which  has  never  since  been  equalled.  This  boulder  is  so 
poised,  that,  only  for  its  having  been  riven  (supposed  by  lightning) 
and  divided  into  two  nearly  equal  parts,  half  a  dozen  men  could 
move  it  from  its  present  position,  and  it  could  not  stop  until  it  had 
rolled  a  distance  of  more  than  three  miles.  There  are  in  the  coun- 
try several  cases  of  the  transplanting  of  hill-tops  and  mountain- 
peaks,*  and  the  subject  is  attracting  much  attention  from  scientific 
men,  as  the  "Testimony  of  the  Rocks"  is  regarded  as  incontroverti- 
ble. The  Contoocook  Valley  Railroad,  extending  from  Hillsboro'  to 
Concord,  passes  through  Henniker,  affording  good  facilities  for  freight 
and  travel. 

Bradford,  which  is  the  northern  boundary  of  Henniker,  a  little 

*  Prof.  Gunning  delivered  a  lecture  in  Hartford,  Conn.,  recently,  on  the  last  glacial  period, 
during  which  he  stated  that  he  had  seen  in  Stamford,  Vt.,  a  mountain  of  granite  as  peculiar 
as  that  of  Superior,  but  of  different  type.  The  crystals  were  foliated.  Science  can  find  that 
granite  at  home  only  in  Stamford.  The  mountain  is  a  truncated  cone.  The  top  has  been 
clipped  off.  North  of  the  mountain  there  was  not  a  single  boulder  of  foliated  granite. 
South  of  the  mountain  there  were  multitudes  of  such  boulders.  Perched  on  the  very  top  of 
Hoosac  Mountain  the  tourist  may  see  a  boulder  about  seventy  feet  in  circumference  and  fifteen 
feet  high.  If  he  looks  at  the  boulder,  then  at  the  mountain,  he  will  see  that  the  boulder 
has  no  kinship  with  the  mountain.  The  boulder  is  that  same  Stamford  granite,  —  a  Ver- 
mont "carpet-bagger"  ensconced  on  one  of  the  highest  peaks  of  Massachusetts.  The  tourist 
may  look  south-westward  over  Deerfield  Valley,  thirteen  hundred  feet  deep,  and  see  far  in 
the  distance  the  outlines  of  Stamford  Mountain,  from  whose  top  that  boulder  was  torn. 


164  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

to  the  west  of  the  Contoocook,  is  equidistant  from  the  Merrimack 
and  Connecticut  Rivers,  and  contains  a  very  singular  natural  curiosity. 
Todd's  Pond,  which  extends  into  Newbury,  is  the  largest  collection 
of  Water  in  the  town,  and  has  several  floating  islands.  Bradford 
Pond,  containing  a  large  number  of  islands,  and  noted  for  its  roman- 
tic surroundings,  is  justly  celebrated  for  its  wild  and  picturesque 
scenery.  The  waters  discharged  from  these  ponds  find  their  way 
into  the  Contoocook. 

Bradford  was  settled  in  1771  by  Dea.  William  Presbury,  and  was 
incorporated  in  1787,  including  in  its  limits  a  portion  of  the  terri- 
tory of  the  present  town  of  Washington.  Several  years  since  a 
stone  quarry  of  good  quality  and  great  value  was  discovered  here, 
which  has  been  extensively  wrought. 

Washington,  the  western  boundary  of  Bradford,  is  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  towns,  in  some  respects,  in  the  State.  It  was  originally 
granted  by  the  Masonian  proprietors  to  Reuben  Kidder,  Esq.,  who 
settled  it  in  1768,  under  the  name  of  Camden.  It  was  incorporated 
Independence  year  (1776)  by  the  distinguished  and  illustrious  name 
of  the  Father  of  his  country.  Washington  is  principally  an  agri- 
cultural community,  the  exception  being  —  as  timber  is  of  superior 
quality,  plenty,  and  cheap  —  the  manufacture  of  various  kinds  of 
wooden  ware.  There  are  more  than  twenty  ponds  in  the  town,  and, 
of  course,  a  very  large  number  of  brooks  and  small  streams.  These 
waters  are  very  pure  and  well  stocked  with  the  best  kinds  of  fish. 

Lovewell's  Mountain,  an  elevation  of  historic  interest,  is  situated 
in  Washington,  and  derives  its  name  from  Captain  Lovewell,  the 
famous  Indian  hunter ;  from  its  summit  an  extensive  view  is  ob- 
tained of  the  surrounding  country,  and  from  this  observatory  he  was 
accustomed  to  scan  the  forest  around,  to  ascertain  if  there  were  any 
savages  lurking  near ;  if  there  were,  the  smoke  of  their  wigwam 
fires  could  be  seen  curling  above  the  tree-tops.  On  one  occasion,  as 
he  was  splitting  logs  near  the  summit,  he  was  suddenly  surrounded 
by  seven  Indians.  A  resort  to  force,  unarmed  and  defenceless  as  he 
was,  against  seven  stalwart  savages,  was  entirely  out  of  the  question  ; 
and,  determined  to  escape,  stratagem  was  his  only  alternative.  Con- 
senting to  go  with  them  into  captivity  without  hesitation,  he  re- 
quested them  as  a  simple  favor  to  assist  him  to  split  the  log  on  which 
he  was  at  work  when  they  interrupted  him.  They  consented  with- 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  165 

out  suspicion,  and,  ranging  themselves  on  either  side  of  the  log,  they 
put  their  hands  into  the  opening  where  it  was  partially  riven  by  the 
entering  wedge,  to  assist  with  all  their  force  in  pulling  it  asunder, 
when  Lovewell  suddenly  striking  out  the  wedge,  the  fissure  closed 
up,  and  they  were  all  securely  caught  in  this  novel  man-trap.  Love- 
well  then  despatched  them  at  his  leisure,  scalped  them  scientifically, 
and  continued  his  labor. 

Besides  the  liberal  provision  for  common  schools,  Tubbs'  Union 
Academy,  a  flourishing  educational  institution,  supplies  its  pupils 
with  a  high  order  of  instruction. 

Warner  is  the  next  town  west  of  Boscawen,  and  lies  immediately 
at  the  base  of  Kearsarge  Mountain.  It  was  granted  by  Massachu- 
setts, to  Deacon  Thomas  Stevens  and  sixty-two  others,  in  1^35, 
under  the  name  of  "  Number  One."  It  was  afterwards  called  New 
Amesbury,  and  was  subsequently  regranted  by  the  Masonian  pro- 
prietors, but  a  controversy  arose  between  the  latter  grantees  and  the 
earlier  claimants,  which  was  not  adjusted  for  several  years,  and  the 
town  was  not  incorporated  until  1774,  when  it  assumed  its  present 
name. 

Warner  was  settled,  in  1762,  by  David  Annis  and  Reuben  Kim- 
ball.  Warner  River,  a  tributary  of  the  Contoocook,  rises  in  the 
Sunapee  Mountains,  and  passing  through  this  town  affords  many 
good  privileges  for  mills  and  shops.  Pleasant  Pond,  whose  waters 
are  cold,  pure,  and  deep,  has  no  visible  inlet  or  outlet,  although  it 
maintains  its  maximum  depth  in  the  dryest  season.  The  soil  of 
this  town  is  very  good ;  the  minerals  are  gneiss  and  mica  slate,  the 
latter  containing  beds  of  limestone  and  talcose  rock,  while  in  the 
former  are  found  very  fine  specimens  of  splendidly  colored  pyrope,  a 
garnet  sometimes  blood-red,  but  generally  a  modification  of  that 
color,  and  frequently  tinged  with  yellow.  There  is  an  extensive  and 
valuable  soapstone  quarry,  and  also  a  large  and  rich  peat  bog,  which 
is  twenty-five  to  thirty  feet  in  depth,  from  which  beaver  cuttings 
have  been  exhumed,  denoting  that  in  the  far-distant  past  it  was  the 
site  of  an  immense  beaver  dam. 

Hopkinton  joins  Concord  on  the  west,  its  principal  village  being 
about  seven  miles  from  the  State  capital.  It  was  granted  by  Massa- 
chusetts, in  1735,  to  John  Jones  and  others,  and  was  called  "  Num- 
ber Five,"  and  was  subsequently  called  New  Hopkinton,  from  Hop- 


166  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

kintonjn  Massachusetts.  It  was  originally  settled  in  1740,  but,  on 
account  of  the  French  and  Indian  war,  the  settlement  was  abandoned 
until  after  its  close.  In  1746,  the  Indians  surprised  the  garrison, 
and  captured  eight  persons  and  carried  them  away.  In  1753  Abra- 
ham Kimball,  the  first  white  male  person  born  in  the  town,  and 
Samuel  Putney,  were  captured  by  the  Indians.  Three  days  after- 
ward the  Indians  were  surprised  and  attacked  in  Boscawen,  and  Put- 
ney was  recaptured,  while  Kimball  made  his  escape  by  the  aid  of  a 
sagacious  dog,  which  ferociously  attacked  an  Indian  as  he  was  about 
to  bury  his  tomahawk  in  Kimball's  skull.  La  1756,  Henry  Miller 
and  others  received  a  grant  of  this  township,  which  occasioned  an 
acrimonious  controversy,  lasting  several  years,  which  was  finally  ad- 
jus^ed  and  peace  restored  by  an  act  of  incorporation  in  1765,  under 
the  name  of  Hopkinton,  — the  "  New  "  having  evidently  been  worn 
off,  or  at  least  left  off. 

The  Contoocook  River  meanders  through  Hopkinton,  receiving  in 
its  passage  the  Warner  and  Blackwater,  and  furnishes  an  excellent 
water-power.  Contoocook vi lie,  located  at  the  junction  of  the  Merri- 
mack  and  Connecticut  Rivers  and  Contoocook  Valley  railroads,  is  a 
lively  village,  and  a  place  of  considerable  business.  In  the  village 
are  shops  and  mills,  and  large  quantities  of  lumber  are  manufactured, 
as  well  as  in  other  parts  of  the  town,  and  shipped  to  distant  markets. 
The  intervals  along  the  rivers  are  exceedingly  fertile,  while  on  the 
undulations  are  seen  many  tracts  of  highly  cultivated  and  productive 
lands.  The  people  are  generally  engaged  in  farming,  to  which  the 
land  is  mostly  well  adapted,  and  many  varieties  of  delicious  fruit  are 
grown,  the  soil  being  unusually  good  for  that  purpose,  and  more  • 
than  ordinary  attention  is  paid  to  its  culture. 


ITS  SOUBCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTAELES.  167 


CHAPTER   VII. 

Concord.  —  The  Pennacooks.  —  First  Settlement.  —  State  Institutions.  —  Ex-President 
Pierce.  —  Isaac  Hill.  —  Count  Rumford.  —  Bow.  —  Hooksett. 

HAVING  explored  the  head-waters  of  the  Merrimack,  and  entered 
the  vast  amphitheatre  where  it  first  appears  to  a  very  select  audi- 
ence, and  where  from  tiers  of  high  encircling  benches  the  gods  of 
the  mountains  look  down  upon  its  opening  career,  its  "leap  for 
life,"  its  noisy  tumbling  from  rock  to  rock  in  sheets  of  milky  foam, 
as  it  were,  into  real,  tangible  being  ;  where  they  from  their  thrones 
rich  draped  in  fleecy  clouds,  and  the  invisible  subjects  who  people 
their  dreary  realms,  almost  "solitary  and  alone,"  look  down  upon 
its  slender  proportions,  listen  to  its  liquid,  soul-inspiring  music,  and 
bid  it  God-speed  on  its  journey  of  usefulness  and  toil ;  following  it 
on  this  journey  along  the  route  it  has  chosen  to  take,  and  traversing 
the  course  of  each  of  its  principal  branches  for  the  purpose  of  obtain- 
ing desirable  and  reliable  information,  matters  of  fact,  of  importance, 
and  of  interest,  and  also  to  procure  such  information  as  will  most 
clearly  disclose  and  exhibit  a  modicum  of  the  importance  and  value 
the  Merrimack  River  already  is,  as  well  as  the  undeveloped  power  it 
still  possesses  to  the  people  of  New  Hampshire  and  New  England, 
and  leaving  the  principal  forks,  a  short  and  pleasant  march  of  twenty 
miles,  and  the  beautiful  city  of  Concord  is  reached. 

Concord  is  the  heart  of  the  Commonwealth,  the  Merrimack  River 
the  main  artery,  and  its  tributaries  the  veins  and  capillaries  through 
which  its  throbs  and  pulsations  are  felt  in  the  most  remote  extremi- 
ties of  the  State.  The  history  of  Concord,  anterior  to  its  occupa- 
tion by  the  pale-face,  as  well  as  during  its  progress  to  its  present 
condition  of  importance  in  the  way  of  wealth,  population,  power,  and 
influence,  seems  to  have  been  intimately  connected  with  that  of  the 
fine  river  which  has  its  course  through  the  centre  of  the  State,  and 
this,  its  capital  city.  It  has  been  the  fortune  of  Concord,  whether 


168  THE  MEREIMACK  EIVEE; 

good  or  otherwise,  to  be  the  chosen  seat  of  government  of  more  than 
one  race  of  men.  When  the  Pennacook  nation  of  confederate  tribes 
was  in  the  zenith  of  its  power  and  glory,  and  its  jurisdiction  and 
influence  extended  beyond  the  present  limits  of  New  Hampshire ; 
when  the  Pennacook  made  laws  and  made  wars,  and  made  peace  by 
conquest  or  treaty  ;  fixed  the  legal  standard  jof  his  shell  circulating 
medium;  devised,  like  his  more  civilized  successor,  oppressive  "in- 
ternal revenue  "  laws;  replenishing  his  depleted  exchequer  as  occa- 
sion required  for  the  maintenance  of  the  dignity  and  efficiency  of 
his  government,  by  the  collection  of  game,  fish,  implements,  and 
wampum,  and  did  those  things  which  a  sovereign  power  may  of  right 
do,  —  he  also  had  the  seat  of  his  government,  and  the  visible  awe- 
inspiring  emblems  of  authority,  and  the  head-quarters  of  his  fore- 
most sagamon  at  Concord. 

"  When  the  red  man  used  this  river,  as  the  white  man  now  does, 
for  important  purposes  in  the  economy  of  life,  as  a  means  of  trans- 
portation and  communication,  cultivating,  after  his  rude  and  primitive 
fashions,  its  fertile  intervals  for  a  meagre  supply  of  maize  and  vines, 
and  procuring  a  material  portion  of  his  sustenance  from  its  waters, 
here  at  Concord  was  the  recognized  and  legal  seat  and  centre  of  his 
dominion,  and  he  called  it  Pennacook  from  pennaqui  (crooked),  and 
auke  (place),  the  river  winding  somewhat  circuitously  through 
this  section,  and  embracing  the  great  intervals  of  Concord  within  its 
folds;  or,  it  may  be  from  penak  (a  ground  nut),  and  auke  (a 
place)."  * 

The  Pennacooks  were  the  most  important  and  powerful  tribe  of 
Indians  on  the  Merrimack  River,  from  the  fact,  no  doubt,  that  their 
location  was  far  superior  to  that  of  any  other  tribe,  a  longer  estab- 
lished and  more  permanent  resident,  and  above  all,  the  extraordinary 
ability  and  wisdom  of  their  great  sagamon,  Passaconaway. 

Their  acknowledged  superiority  naturally  placed  them  at  the  head 
of  the  powerful  confederacy  of  the  Merrimack  River  tribes  and  the 
Winnipesaukees.  Amoskeag,  Souhegan,  and  Nashuas  acknowledged 
their  sway,  and  were  tributary  to  them;  the  Wamesits,  naturally 
inferior  in  many  respects,  and  being  intermarried,  were  also  tribu- 
tary, and  ultimately,  the  several  tribes  along  the  Merrimack  ceased  to 
maintain  an  independent  existence  in  name  as  well  as  in  fact,  and 

*  Potter. 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  169 

were  absorbed  by  the  Pennacooks.  The  names  of  the  tribes  so 
merged  were  the  Agawams,  located  in  what  is  now  Essex  County, 
Massachusetts,  Wamesits,  Nashua,  Souhegan,  Namoskeag,  and 
Winnipesaukee.  Besides  these,  the  following  tribes,  not  on  the  Mer- 
rimack,  acknowledged  fealty,  were  tributary  to,  and  confederates  of 
the  Pennacooks :  the  Wachusetts,  Coosucks,  Pequakuakes,  Ossipee, 
Squamscotts,  Winnecowetts,  Piscataquaukes,  Newichewannocks, 
Sacos,  Amariscoggins.  As  it  is  interesting  to  know  the  derivation 
and  significance  of  the  names  by  which  these  aboriginal  communities 
were  known  and  distinguished,  some  of  them  are  here  given. 

"  The  Winnipesaukees  occupied  the  lands  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
lake  of  that  name,  one  of  their  noted  fishing-places  being  at  the  outlet 
of  the  Winnipesaukee,  now  known  as  the  weirs,  —  having  remained  at 
that  place  long  after  the  advent  of  the  whites.  Winnipesaukee  is 
derived  from  winne  (beautiful)  ,nipe  (water),  kees  (high),  and  auke 
(a  place) ,  meaning  literally  the  beautiful  water  of  the  high  place. 
Wachusetts  from  wadchu  (a  mountain),  and  auke  (a  place),  near 
Wachusetts  Mountain  in  Massachusetts  ;  the  Coosucks,  from  cooash 
(pines),  upon  the  sources  of  the  Connecticut  River ;  the  Pequaquaukes 
from  pequaquis  (crooked),  and  auke  (a  place),  upon  the  sources  of 
the  Saco,  in  Carroll  County,  in  New  Hampshire,  and  Oxford  County, 
in  Maine;  the  Ossipees  from  cooash  (pines),  andnipe  (a  river),  upon 
the  Ossipee  Lake,  and  river  in  Carroll  County,  New  Hampshire, 
and  York  County  in  Maine ;  the  Squamscotts,  from  winne  (beautiful), 
asquam  (water),  and  auke  (a  place),  upon  Exeter  River,  in 
Exeter,  and  Stratham  in  Rockingham  County ;  the  Winnecowetts, 
from  winne  (beautiful),  cooash  (pines),  and  auke  (a  place),  in  the 
same  county  ;  the  Piscataquaukes,  from  pos  (great),  attuck  (a  deer), 
and  auke  (a  place)  j  upon  the  Piscataqua  River,  the  boundary 
'  between  New  Hampshire  and  Maine ;  the  Newichewannocks,  from 
me  (my),  week  (a  contraction  of  weekwam,  a  house),  and  ouannocks 
(come),  upon  one  of  the  upper  branches  of  the  same  river;  the 
Sacos,  from  sawa  (burnt),  coo  (pine),  and  auke  (a  place),  upon  the 
Saco  River  in  York  County,  Maine ;  and  the  Amariscoggins,  from 
namaos  (fish),  kees  (high),  and  auke  (a  place),  upon  the  Amariscog- 
gin  River,  having  its  source  in  New  Hampshire,  and  emptying  its 

waters  into  the  Kennebec."  * 

* 

*  Potter. 
22 


170  THE  MEREIMACK  EIVEE; 

•  All  the  tribes  of  the  interior  were  known  to  the  Indians  living 
near  the  salt  water,  as  Nipmucks,  or  fresh-water  Indians,  that  being 
the  general  name  by  which  all  were  designated.  "  Nipmuck  ia 
derived  from  nipe  (still  water),  and  auke  (a  place),  with  the  letter 
M  thrown  in  for  the  sake  of  the  euphony  ;"  and,  true  to  their  name, 
the  Nipmucks  usually  had  their  residences  upon  places  of  still  water, 
the  ponds,  lakes,  and  rivers. 

This  was  the  great  Pennacook  Confederacy ;  having  its  settlements 
scattered  over  a  vast  extent  of  country,  its  communication  kept  open 
by  lines  of  fleet  runners,  it  was  powerful  for  mischief,  and  whether 
its  ire  was  aroused  by  its  implacable  enemy,  the  Mohawks,  or  sought 
to  wreak  vengeance  on  the  encroaching  colonies,  it  concentrated  its 
forces,  and  moved  suddenly  and  rapidly,  creating  alarm,  terror,  and 
dread.  Pennacook  was  fortified  for  the  protection  of  habitations, 
utensils,  supplies,  and  non-combatants,  as  well  as  a  safe  retreat  from 
the  war-path  when  a  foe  was  encountered,  whose  force  was  either  too 
strong  or  unknown  ;  and  when  the  danger  was  past,  or  the  alarm  was 
discovered  to  be  false,  he  could  easily  replenish  his  exhausted  stores 
by  following  the  Merrimack  up  or  down,  or  the  Contoocook  on  the 
west,  which,  as  also  its  tributaries,  was  stored  with  fish,  and  its  forests 
abounding  in  game,  while  on  the  east,  the  Soucook  and  the  Suncook 
were  famous  fishing-places,  and  deer  and  other  game  filled  the  woods  ; 
the  Dark  Plains  of  Pennacook,  Pembroke,  and  Chichester  being  a  ren- 
dezvous where  he  could  assemble  for  the  chase,  secure  and  unobserved, 
and  without  alarming  the  game,  and  range  this  famous  deer  country 
to  Catamount  Mountain  and  to  Deerfield,  without  danger  of  inter- 
ruption until  at  least  his  present  wants  were  amply  provided  for. 

The  Pennacook,  doubtless,  had  the  sagacity  to  see  at  an  early 
period  after  the  advent  of  the  pale-face,  his  ultimate  and  inevitable 
doom,  and  being  human,  though  an  Indian,  consequently  possessed  a 
spirit  not  altogether  praiseworthy,  which  was  no  doubt  aggravated 
by  the  vicious  blood  of  his  race,  and  it  may  not  be  wondered  at  that 
he  determined  to  leave  the  mark  of  his  resentment  and  his  vengeance 
whenever  and  wherever  he  could.  On  the  other  hand,  however  laud- 
able the  motives  by  which  he  was  actuated,  the  white  man  was  the  de- 
epoiler  of  his  home,  his  patrimony  and  his  hopes,  to  him  only  an 
interloper  and  a  robber ;  he  came  upon  the  Indians'  domain,  the  title 
to  which  had  remained  unquestioned  and  undisputed  for  ages,  and 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS   TE1BUTAEIES.  171 

while  the  intruder  bore  the  Christian  badge  and  banner,  on  which  was 
inscribed  "  Peace  on  earth,  and  good  will  to  all  men,"  and  the  golden 
rule,  he  rudely  thrust  the  simple  child  of  Nature  from  the  soil  of  his 
nativity,  and  where  he  did  not  choose  to  "  stand  not  on  the  order  of 
going,  but  go  at  once,"  but  insisted  with  some  show  of  reason  on  his 
right  to  remain,  the  pious  pilgrim  was  forced  to.  kill  him  to  get  rid  of 
him,  while  at  the  same  time  he  gave  glory  to  God  that  he  had  received 
the  light,  and  was  not  a  pagan  savage. 

Concord  was  first  visited  by  white  men  as  early  as  1639,  but  for 
half  a  century  it  remained  too  far  beyond  the  frontier,  and  was  con- 
sequently too  warm  with  Indian  atrocities,  actual  or  threatened,  for 
the  prosperity,  comfort  or  health  of  civilized  people.  In  1725,  it 
was  granted  to  Benjamin  Stevens,  Ebenezer  Stevens,  and  others,  by 
Massachusetts,  which  had  usurped  jurisdiction  over  a  very  'large 
portion  of  the  territory  of  New  Hampshire,  under  the  name  of  Penna- 
cook  Plantation.  The  next  year  something  more  than  a  hundred  build- 
ing-lots were  laid  out  along  the  Merrimack,  and  some  fifty  or  sixty 
people  commenced  building  and  farming  operations.  A  house  for 
public  worship  on  the  Sabbath,  and  defensive  works  for  the  protec- 
tion and  security  of  the  settlers  were  also  commenced,  but  were  not 
completed  until  the  following  year.  At  the  same  time  a  house  for 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Walker  was  erected,  which  is  still  standing,  or  was 
quite  recently,  and  is  believed  to  be  the  oldest  two-story  house  in  the 
State.  Edward  Abbott's  house  was  built  at  the  same  time,  and  the 
first  two  children,  a  girl  and  a  boy,  of  the  Caucasian  race,  were 
born  in  this  house.  The  former  died  in  1797,  and  the  latter  in  1801. 
This  building  is  still  standing  on  Montgomery  Street,  but  is  now 
used  for  a  barn. 

The  first  town-meeting  of  Pennacook  Plantation  was  held  January 
11,  1732,  and  Captain  Ebenezer  Eastman  was  elected  moderator ; 
and  this  was  probably  the  last  one  also  ;  for  the  next  year  the  General 
Court  of  Massachusetts  passed  an  act  of  incorporation,  and  changed 
its  name  to  Rumford.  Thirty  years  later,  by  order  of  the  king  in 
council,  Rumford  was  declared  to  be  within  the  jurisdiction  of  New 
Hampshire,  and,  in  1765,  it  was  incorporated  by  the  latter  power 
under  its  present  name. 

During  all  these  years  the  Indians  remained  in  unpleasant  prox- 
imity, and  maintained  a  menacing  and  hostile  ittitude,  making 


172  THE  MEEBIMACK  EIVER; 

frequent  predatory  incursions,  rendering  the  settlers  inscure  in  their 
lives  as  well  as  effects.  In  1739,  for  better  securing  themselves 
against  an  apprehended  attack  of  the  Indians  in  strong  force,  a 
garrison  was  erected.  This  fort  was  large,  including  the  dwelling- 
house  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Walker,  and  designed  as  a  refuge  for  the 
defenceless  in  case  of  emergency. 

'  In  1742,  the  wife  of  Jonathan  Eastman  was  taken  captive  and 
carried  to  Canada,  but  was  subsequently  ransomed  and  returned  to 
her  friends.  On  Sunday,  August  10th,  1746,  a  band  of  savages, 
supposed  to  number  one  hundred  or  more,  secreted  themselves  near 
the  meeting-house,  intending,  doubtless,  to  attack  the  people  while  at 
worship  ;  but  fortunately  a  scouting  party  of  between  thirty  and 
forty  men,  under  command  of  Captain  Daniel  Ladd,  of  Exeter, 
opportunely  arrived  on  that  day  ;  besides  this,  the  men  went  to  church 
well  armed,  and  thus  the  murderous  designs  of  the  enemy  were  frus- 
trated, and,  instead  of  finding  the  settlers  an  easy  prey,  and  making 
them  their  victims,  they  were  attacked  and  driven  away.  Chagrined 
at  their  discomfiture,  the  Indians  secreted  themselves  in  the  woods, 
about  a  mile  from  the  village,  and  near  the  path  which  led  to  East- 
man's Fort,  in  the  west  part  of  the  town,  for  the  purpose  of  intercept- 
ing or  ambuscading  squads  of  soldiers,  supposing  no  doubt  that  they 
would  pass  to  and  from  the  settlement  and  fort.  This  scheme  was 
well  considered,  the  position  well  chosen,  and  the  success  terribly 
complete.  In  the  morning,  Lieut.  Jonathan  Bradley,  of  Capt.  Ladd's 
company,  and  seven  men  started  for  Eastman's  Fort,  and  having 
proceeded  a  mile  and  a  half,  were  attacked  by  the  Indians,  and  what 
followed  may  be  told  by  Abner  Clough,  of  Nottingham,  clerk  of  the 
company,  who  kept  a  record  of  its  doings  : 

' '  And  when  they  had  gone  about  a  mile  and  a  half,  they  were 
shot  upon*  by  thirty  or  forty  Indians,  if  not  more,  as  it  was 
supposed,  and  killed  down  dead.  Lieut.  Jonathan  Bradley  and 
Samuel  Bradley,  John  Lufkin,  and  John  Bean,  and  this  Obadiah 
Peters,  —  these  five  men  were  killed  down  dead  on  the  spot,  and  the 
most  of  the  men  were  stripped ;  two  were  stripped  stark  naked,  and 
were  very  much  cut  and  stabbed  and  disfigured,  and  Sergeant  Alex- 
ander Robberts  and  William  Stickney  were  taken  captive,  and  have 
never  been  heard  of  since.  It  was  supposed  there  was  an  Indian  killed 
where  they  had  the  fight ;  for  this  Daniel  Oilman,  who  made  his 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS   TEIBUTAEIE8.  173 

escape,  saith  that  he  was  about  sixty  rods  before  these  men  when 
they  were  shot  upon,  and  he  says  the  Indians  shot  three  guns  first. 
He  says  that  he  thought  our  men  shot  at  a  deer ;  he  says  that  he  run 
back  about  forty  rods  upon  a  hill,  so  that  he  could  see  over  upon 
the  other  hill,  where  the  Indians  lie,  and  shot  upon  the  men, 
and  he  says,  as  ever  he  came  upon  the  hill  so  as  to  see  over 
upon  the  other  hill,  he  heard  Lieut.  Jonathan  Bradley  speak 
and  say,  'Lord,  have  mercy  upon  me;  fight.'  In  a  moment 
his  gun  went  off,  and  three  more  guns  of  our  men's  were  shot,  and 
then  the  Indians  rose  up  and  shot  a  volley,  and  run  out  in  the  path, 
and  making  all  sorts  of  howling  and  yelling  ;  and  he  did  not  stay 
long  to  see  it,  he  said.  It  was  supposed  that  John  Lufkin  and 
Peters  were  the  first  shot,  as  they  were  in  the  path  about  twelve  or 
fourteen  rods  apart,  and  they  shot  Samuel  Bradley,  as  he  was  about 
twelve  feet  before  where  this  Obadiah  Peters  Iay5  and  wounded  him 
so  that  the  blood  started  every  step  he  took.  He  went  about  five 
rods  right  in  the  path,  and  then  they  shot  him  right  through  his 
powder-horn  as  it  hung  by  his  side,  and  so  through  his  body,  and 
there  lay  these  three  men  lying  in  the  path,  and  Lieut.  Bradley  run 
out  of  the  path  about  two  rods,  right  in  amongst  the  Indians.  He 
was  shot  through  his  waist ;  it  was  supposed  he  killed  the  Indian. 
It  was  supposed  that  he  fought  (as  he  stood  there  in  the  spot  where 
he  was  killed)  till  the  Indians  cut  his  head  almost  to  pieces,  and 
John  Bean  run  about  six  rods  out  of  the  path  on  the  other  side  of 
the  way,  and  then  was  shot  right  through  his  body,  so  that  there  was 
none  of  these  men  that  went  one  or  two  steps  after  they  were  shot, 
excepting  this  Samuel  Bradley,  that  was  shot  as  above  said,  and  there 
seemed  to  be  as  much  blood  where  the  Indian  was  shot  as  there  was 
where  any  one  of  our  men  were  killed.  It  was  supposed  the  men  lie 
there  about  two  hours  after  they  were  killed  before  anybody  came 
there.  We  did  not  go  till  there  came  a  post  down  from  the  fort,  about 
three  quarters  of  a  mile  beyond  where  the  men  lie,  and  were  killed." 

A  granite  monument  has  been  erected  on  the  spot,  to  commemorate 
this  bloody  event,  by  Richard  Bradley,  Esq.,  a  grandson  of  Samuel 
Bradley,  one  of  the  slain. 

In  1808,  the  capital  of  the  State  was  established  permanently  at 
Concord,  and,  in  1816,  the  erection  of  the  State  House  was  com- 
menced, and  was  ready  for  occupation  three  years  afterwards.  The 


174  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

State  House  grounds  comprise  two  acres  extending  from  Main  to 
State  Street,  substantially  enclosed  and  ornamented  with  beautiful 
shade-trees.  The  entire  original  cost  of  land  and  building  was  a 
little  more  than  eighty  thousand  dollars,  but  alterations,  additions, 
and  improvements  have  been  made,  which  will  probably  sum  up  a 
total  cost  of  not  less  than  two  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

In  1823,  the  County  of  Merrimack  was  erected  by  taking  a  num- 
ber of  towns  from  Rockingham  County  on  the  east  side  of  the  river, 
and  from  Hillsboro'  on  the  west,  in  honor  of  the  beautiful  river  pass- 
ing through  it.  Concord  being  much  the  largest  town,  in  population 
as  well  as  area,  was  selected  at  the  same  time  as  the  county-seat, 
and  is  provided  with  suitable  county  buildings.  It  contains  an  area 
of  forty-two  thousand  acres,  one  acre  in  every  twenty  being  covered 
with  water.  Much  of  the  land  is  meadow,  or  interval,  composed  of 
rich  alluvial  and  vegetable  deposit,  which  formerly  afforded  the  Pen- 
nacook  ample  breadth  for  his  scanty  husbandry,  and  where  he  could 
produce  material  for  his  nasamp  and  succotash ;  and  it  is  worthy  of 
note  that  the  uninterrupted  cultivation  of  these  lands  for  two  cen- 
turies has  scarcely  impaired  their  fertility  or  diminished  their  pro- 
ductiveness. 

The  county  court-house,  built  in  1855,  is  a  very  fine  building, 
and  took  the  place  of  an  ancient  structure  which  had  in  its  time  been 
used  as  a  State  House,  and  for  many  other  purposes. 

The  county  jail  is  a  fine,-  substantial  building,  erected  a  little 
earlier  than  the  court-house,  and  the  grounds  are  adorned  with  fine 
fruit  and  ornamental  trees.  Most  of  the  State  institutions  are 
located  at  Concord. 

In  1812,  the  State  Prison  was  built ;  but  twenty  years  later  it  was 
found  necessary  to  enlarge  the  original  building,  and  the  north  wing 
was  added. .  It  contains  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  cells,  some  of 
which,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  will  still  continue  to  be  unoccupied  for  many 
years.  It  contains  the  cook  rooms,  which  are  operated  by  steam,  a 
hospital,  and  a  hall  where  religious  services  are  held.  There  is  also 
a  library  of  one  thousand  volumes  belonging  to  the  institution.  The 
prison  yard  comprises  two  acres,  and  is  securely  enclosed  with  a  sub- 
stantial granite  wall.  The  workshops  are  convenient,  and  the  affairs 
of  the  institution  have  generally  been  so  well  managed  as  to  make  it 
self-sustaining. 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS   TRIBUTARIES.  175 

The  Insane  Asylum  is  a  fine  building,  properly  arranged  in  apart- 
ments suitable  to  the  sexes,  and  to  the  dogrees  of  insanity  which 
afflict  the  unfortunate  patients.  The  best  of  medical  aid  and  expe- 
rience, careful  nursing,  and  attention  to  comfort  are  provided  as 
well  for  incurables  as  for  those  whose  cases  are  of  a  more  hopeful 
character  ;  and  it  is  pleasant  to  know  that  when  reason  is  dethroned 
by  some  unusual  or  extraordinary  mental  strain,  the  state  of  intel- 
lectual chaos  may  not  be  perpetual  or  hopeless,  but  is  often  perma- 
nently cured  by  the  treatment  received  at  this  institution. 

The  common  schools  of  Concord  bear  a  favorable  reputation ;  the 
school-houses  are  commodious,  and  some  of  them  costly  structures. 
The  facilities  for  a  thorough  education  in  the  common  and  some  of 
the  higher  branches  are  excellent.  For  many  years  past  the  whole 
State  of  New  Hampshire  has  been  waking  up  to  the  importance  of 
providing  the  most  liberal  facilities  for  common-school  education. 
Concord,  where  the  representative  men  of  the  State  annually  assem- 
ble, and  display  the  talent  and  learning  which  are  so  generally  diffused, 
has,  perhaps,  been  more  thoroughly  aroused  by  this  circumstance, 
and  has  sought  to  place  her  common-school  system  on  a  high  and 
progressive  basis.  The  schools  are  graded,  as  in  most  large  towns, 
for  greater  convenience  and  efficiency  in  the  process  of  instruction, 
which  ranges  from  the  elementary  principles  to  the  higher  branches 
of  English  education. 

The  prosperity  of  Concord  has,  undoubtedly,  been  much  increased 
and  its  growth  accelerated  by  the  completion  of  many  railroad  lines 
which  centre  here,  and  the  population  is  estimated  at  sixteen  thousand. 

The  Concord  Railroad  was  open  for  travel  September  1st,  1842 ; 
the  Merrimack  and  Connecticut  River  Railroad  was  open  for  travel 
September  20th,  1849;  the  Northern  Railroad  in  1846.  The  Boston, 
Concord,  and  Montreal  Railroad  was  opened  May  10th,  1848,  al- 
though the  line  through  was  not  completed  until  five  years  after. 
There  is  also  the  Contoocook  Valley,  the  Concord  and  Claremont,  and 
the  Concord  and  Portsmouth.  The  enterprise  which  has  constructed 
and  equipped  so  many  railroads  could  not  fail  to  manifest  itself  as  it 
has  in  the  rapid  advancement  of  Concord,  nor  could  these  roads  fail 
each  in  its  way  to  add  steadily  to  the  wealth,  business,  and  prosperity 
of  the  city. 

The  immense  travel  over  these  roads,  the  frequent  assembling 


176  THE  MEEBIMACE  BIVER; 

here  of  conventions  and  other  large  political  bodies,  as  well  as  other 
organizations,  the  assembling  of  the  General  Court  and  many  stran- 
gers on  business  connected  with  the  State  institutions,  necessitates  the 
maintenance  of  large  hotel  accommodations,  and  there  are  some  eight 
or  ten  in  the  city,  several  of  them  first-class  hotels  in  every  respect. 

There  are  fifteen  churches  and  twenty-five  clergymen  in  Concord ; 
still  this  large  number  by  no  means  proves  that  tares  grow  rank  and 
plentiful  in  the  moral  wheat  fields,  as  some  of  them  are  editors,  pro- 
fessors, and  chaplains  of  the  different  State  institutions. 

There  are  about  thirty  lawyers ;  but  this  large  proportionate  num- 
ber may  not  be  taken  to  demonstrate  that  the  community  is  greatly 
given  to  litigation,  as  Concord  is  the  head-quarters  of  the  legal  pro- 
fession in  the  State,  and  perhaps  the  aid  of  some  of  them  is  required  to 
assist  in  mystifying  legislative  enactments.  There  are  only  some  twelve 
or  fifteen  physicians,  representing,  however,  all  of  the  various  meth- 
ods of  practice ;  which  is  a  favorable  indication  of  the  sobriety,  regu- 
larity, and  superior  sanitary  condition  of  the  population  generally. 

Seven  or  eight  newspapers  are  published  in  Concord,  representing 
the  different  religious  and  political  opinions,  and  most  of  them  are 
generously  supported.  The  most  extensive  and  famous  carriage- 
manufacturing  business  in  the  State  has  been  carried  on  for  many 
years  in  this  place  by  several  companies.  Every  kind  of  vehicle  is 
turned  out,  and  in  the  highest  degree  of  perfection,  combining  style, 
durability,  and  finish.  These  carriages  find  a  ready  market  in  all 
the  States  and  territories  of  the  Union,  Mexico,  South  America,  Aus- 
tralia, and  many  other  places.  There  is  also  an  extensive  granite 
quarry,  and  "Concord  granite  "  is  well  known  in  many  parts  of  the 
country,  as  much  of  it  is  shipped  to  distant  markets. 

In  the  flourishing  village  of  Fisherville,  situated  at  the  confluence 
of  the  Contoocook  and  Merrimack  Rivers,  is  an  extensive  cotton 
manufactory  with  a  capital  of  five  hundred  thousand  dollars.  There 
are  also  woollen  mills  in  Concord,  employing  altogether  several  hun- 
dred hands. 

Among  the  many  able  and  distinguished  men,  native  and  resi- 
dent, it  may  not  be  invidious  to  briefly  mention  a  few :  The  Rev. 
Timothy  Walker  settled  in  Concord,  then  Pennacook,  in  1726,  and 
was  pastor  of  the  First  Congregational  Church,  organized  in  the  town, 
for  fifty-two  years.  He  was  strong  and  active  in  his  efforts  for  the 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  177 

good  of  the  community,  successful  in  his  labors,  a  wise  as  well  as  a 
good  man.  He  lived  to  see  the  rejoicing  over  the  surrender  of  Corn- 
wallis  at  Yorktowh,  and  the  independence  of  his  country  acknowl- 
edged, when  he  exclaimed,  "  It  is  enough  !  'Lord,  now  lettest  thou 
thy  servant  depart  in  peace  !  ' 

Hon.  Timothy  Walker,  his  son,  was  also  intellectually  a  strong 
man.  He  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  the  class  of  1756  ;  was 
a  member  of  the  Committee  of  Safety  in  1776 ;  also  of  the  Consti- 
tutional Convention  in  1784,  and  held  many  other  offices  of  honor 
and  trust.  He  was  an  officer  in  the  New  Hampshire  forces  during 
the  Revolutionary  struggle.  After  the  formation  of  the  State  gov- 
ernment he  was  for  several  years  a  member  of  the  General  Court, 
and  for  a  long  period  occupied  the  position  of  Chief  Justice  of  the 
Court  of  Common  Pleas.  He  died  in  1822,  at  the  mature  age  of 
eighty-five  years. 

Benjamin  Thompson,  long  a  resident  of  Concord,  married  a  daugh- 
ter of  the  Rev.  and  a  sister  of  the  Hon.  Timothy  Walker,  and  is 
better  known  as  Count  Rumford.  About  1775  he  went  to  England, 
where  he  was  intrusted  with  the  position  of  private  secretary  to  a 
distinguished  nobleman,  who,  pleased  with  his  intelligence,  his  supe- 
rior capacity  for  business,  and  his  fidelity  to  the  trust  reposed  in  him, 
procured  for  him  the  commission  of  colonel  in  the  British  army, 
where  he  served  until  1784,  when  his  scientific  inquiries,  investiga- 
tions, and  attainments  attracted  the  attention  of  Europe,  and  he  was 
promoted  to  the  position  of  lieutenant-general  of  dragoons  in  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Duke  of  Bavaria.  He  distinguished  himself  as  a  soldier 
and  philanthropist,  and  was  honored  by  the  duke  with  the  title  of 
count,  afterwards  receiving  from  England  the  honor  of  knighthood. 
He  died  in  1814.  The  Countess  Rumford,  at  her  death,  made  very- 
munificent  bequests  for  charitable  purposes  in  Concord. 

Franklin  Pierce  was  born  in  Hillsboro',  New  Hampshire,  November 
23d,  1804.  He  graduated  at  Bowdoin  College  in  the  class  of  1824, 
and,  having  decided  on  the  profession  of  law,  he  entered  the  office  of 
Judge  Levi  Woodbury,  at  Portsmouth,  and  finished  his  preparatory 
studies  by  two  years  in  the  office  of  Judge  Parker  and  at  the  law 
school  in  Northampton.  In  1827,  having  been  admitted  to  the  bar, 
he  commenced  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  Hillsboro',  in  a 
dingy  office  which  was  finished  off  for  the  purpose  in  the  end  of  a 
23 


178  THE  MEERIMACK  B1VER; 

shed ;  and  thus,  like  most  men  who  have  acquired  distinction  and 
renown  in  this  country,  the  path  had  a  humble  beginning  which  led 
him  from  obscurity,  through  long  years  of  effort,  toil,  drudgery,  and 
trials,  to  reach  it. 

It  seems  to  be  a  wise  provision  of  Providence,  that  what  is  not 
worth  making  an  earnest  effort  to  obtain  is  not  worth  having,  even 
though  it  is  only  daily  bread ;  and  the  effort  required  to  provide 
either  food  or  achieve  a  just  fame  properly  qualifies  an  individual  to 
appreciate  its  benefits  and  realize  and  discharge  its  obligations  and 
duties.  Thus,  when  a  man  enlists  with  a  full  determination  to  serve 
faithfully  and  well,  and  rises  from  the  humblest  rank  to  the  highest 
command,  for  no  other  consideration  than  diligent  and  efficient  ser- 
vices, it  would  seem  a  self-evident  proposition  that  he  is  a  gallant 
soldier  and  an  excellent  officer. 

His  first  case  was  a  failure,  —  no  doubt  to  him  a  mortifying  one ; 
but  it  neither  weakened  his  ambition  nor  relaxed  his  efforts  to  compel 
success ;  on  the  contrary,  it  was  a  spur  which  goaded  him  to  more 
extensive  preparations  and  a  marshalling  of  hitherto  undeveloped 
faculties,  and  it  is  more  than  possible  that  a  discomfiture  in  the  out- 
set aroused  his  latent  energies  and  was  a  guaranty  of  ultimate  tri- 
umph. At  the  age  of  twenty-five  he  was  chosen  to  represent  his 
native  town  in  the  Legislature,  —  his  father  having  been  elected  gov- 
ernor the  same  year,  —  and  served  four  years  in  that  body,  the  two 
last  being  elected  speaker  by  a  majority  of  one  hundred  votes. 

In  1833  he  was  elected  to  Congress,  being  the  youngest,  one  of 
the  most  industrious  and  useful  members.  It  was  said  of  him  that 
he  never  talked  for  Buncombe ;  but  his  sterling  abilities  as  a  watch- 
ful and  efficient  legislator  were  practically  recognized  by  the  House 
in  placing  him  on  some  of  the  most  important  committees,  as  well  as 
by  his  constituents. 

He  was  a  disciple  of  Andrew  Jackson,  and  the  warmest  personal 
friendship  and  esteem  existed  between  them.  Here  he  served  four 
years,  and  the  satisfaction  which  he  gave  in  the  discharge  of  the 
duties  of  a  representative  may  be  inferred  by  the  fact  that  he  was 
then  promoted  to  the  Senate,  and  took  his  seat  in  1837,  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  administration  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  and  partici- 
pated in  the  conflicts  of  the  intellectual  giants  of  that  most  brilliant 
epoch  of  the  United  States  Senate  since  the  early  days  of  the  Re- 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TEIBUTAEIES.  179 

public.  Starting  in  life  with  a  commendable  ambition,  which  was 
rather  to  excel  in  every  position  he  occupied  than  to  gain  others  still 
higher,  in  all  respects  his  career  had  been  one  of  unexampled  success ; 
official  station  having  sought  him  out  and  advanced  him  in  every 
instance  at  the  earliest  moment  that  age  would  allow  him  legally  to 
accept  it;  and  now,  having  reached  the  goal  of  his  ambition,  and 
having  made  an  honorable  record  in  that  great  arena  of  intellectual 
gladiators,  his  ambition  sated,  he  determined  to  resign  and  retire  to 
the  pursuits  of  private  life.  Accordingly  he  resigned  the  office  of 
senator  in  1842,  and,  returning  to  Concord,  where  he  had  established 
himself  in  1838,  resolved  to  provide  some  pecuniary  means  by  the 
practice  of  his  profession  to  serve  his  family  in  an  emergency,  as  his 
inflexible  honesty  had  left  him,  at  the  voluntary  termination  of  a  long 
and  valuable  public  career,  a  poor  man. 

On  the  assumption  of  the  presidential  office  by  Mr.  Polk  he  wrote 
to  Franklin  Pierce,  urging  him  to  accept  a  position  in  the  new  cabi- 
net. In  his  communication  the  president  said  :  — 

' '  In  tendering  to  you  the  position  in  my  cabinet  I  have  been 
governed  by  the  high  estimate  which  I  place  upon  your  character 
and  eminent  qualifications  to  fill  it." 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  his  reply  declining  the  appoint- 
ment :  — 

"Although  the  early  years  of  my  manhood  were  devoted  to  public 
life,  it  was  never  really  suited  to  my  taste.  I  longed,  as  I  am  sure 
you  must  often  have  done,  for  the  quiet  and  independence  that  be- 
long only  to  the  private  citizen ;  and  now  at  forty  I  feel  that  desire 
stronger  than  ever.  Coming  so  unexpectedly  as  the  offer  does,  it 
would  be  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  arrange  the  business  of  an 
extensive  practice  between  this  and  the  first  of  November  in  a  man- 
ner at  all  satisfactory  to  myself,  or  to  those  who  have  committed 
their  interest  to  my  care,  and  who  rely  on  my  services. 

"  When  I  resigned  my  seat  in  the  Senate,  in  1842,  I  did  it  with 
the  fixed  purpose  never  again  to  be  voluntarily  separated  from  my 
family  for  any  considerable  length  of  time,  except  at  the  call  of  my 
country  in  time  of  war. 

"These  are  some  of  the  considerations  which  have  influenced  my 
decision.  You  will,  I  am  sure,  appreciate  my  motives.  You  will 
not  believe  that  I  have  weighed  my  personal  convenience  and  ease 


180  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER* 

against  the  public  interest,  especially  as  the  office  is  one  which,  if 
not  sought,  would  be  readily  accepted  by  gentlemen  who  could  bring 
to  your  aid  attainments  and  qualifications  vastly  superior  to  mine." 

A  few  years  after,  the  contingency  unexpectedly  occurred  to  which 
he  had  referred  in  the  above  letter,  by  the  breaking  out  of  the  Mexi- 
can War,  and  the  name  of  Franklin  Pierce  was  the  first  enrolled  as 
a  private  in  the  first  volunteer  company  raised  in  Concord  for  the 
war,  and  in  the  preliminary  drills  he  was  punctually  in  the  ranks 
with  his  musket.  He  was  appointed  colonel  of  the  New  England 
Regiment,  and  the  same  year  (1847)  was  commissioned  brigadier- 
general,  and  was  ordered  with  his  command  to  Mexico,  where  he  ar- 
rived about  the  first  of  July,  in  the  midst  of  the  sickly  season,  when 
the  vomito  was  an  efficient  ally  of  the  enemy.  During  the  campaign 
which  terminated  with  the  capture  of  the  city  of  the  Montezumas, 
Gen.  Pierce  was  conspicuous  among  the  volunteer  officers  for  prompt 
and  decisive  action,  regard  for  the  comfort  of  his  men,  kindness  and 
personal  attention  to  the  sick  and  disabled,  and  his  temerity  and  dis- 
regard of  consequences  which  might  result  to  himself  personally  in 
times  of  great  peril. 

In  the  fierce  struggle  of  contending  armies  in  the  valley  of  Mexico 
he  was  constantly  under  fire,  and  the  many  bullet-holes  through  his 
clothing  attested  his  hair-breadth  escapes.  On  one  occasion,  at  Con- 
treras,  August  19th,  he  met  with  a  severe  accident,  his  horse  falling 
on  the  battle-field  and  crushing  him  severely,  leaving  him  exposed 
and  defenceless  under  a  galling  fire. 

When  Santa  Anna  proposed  an  armistice,  with  a  view  to  peaceful 
negotiation,  Gen.  Pierce  was  selected  by  the  commander-in-chief  as 
one  of  the  commissioners,  and  at  the  triumphant  close  of  the  war  he 
returned  to  Concord,  where  he  at  once  resumed  the  practice  of  his 
profession,  determined  henceforth  to  enjoy  that  independence  which 
he  had  known  only  as  a  private  citizen. 

Again,  in  1852,  a  command  reached  him  from  a  source  which  he 
had  never  disregarded  or  disobeyed.  The  people  called  him  to  the 
most  exalted  and  responsible  position  on  the  face  of  the  earth ;  and, 
though  his  opponent  was  the  most  renowned  military  chieftain  of  the 
age,  and  was  held  in  affectionate  regard  by  the  American  people  for 
his  high  character  and  distinguished  services,  Gen.  Pierce  was  elected 
with  unprecedented  unanimity,  only  four  States  declaring  for  his 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTABIES.  181 

i 
opponent ;  and  thus,  before  he  had  reached  his  forty-eighth  year,  he 

was  president-elect  of  this  great  nation. 

During  the  campaign  which  resulted  in  his  elevation  he  encoun- 
tered obloquy,  vituperation,  and  even  calumny,  unsurpassed,  perhaps, 
by  the  fierce  and  heated  canvasses  of  Jefferson  and  Jackson,  while  his 
administration  was  assailed,  as  all  administrations  before  and  since 
have  been,  with  or  without  cause.  Still  it  may  be  considered  as 
proof,  as  far  as  it  goes,  that  this  persistent  and  malignant  opposition 
was  groundless,  as  retrospection  and  the  lapse  of  time  have  softened 
political  asperities,  and  a  land  burdened  with  grief,  taxation,  debt, 
and  sectional  animosity  would  rejoice  at  the  return  of  those  palmy 
days  of  the  Republic. 

Gen.  Pierce  being  remarkably  urbane  and  courteous  by  nature,  as 
well  as  from  a  sense  of  duty,  to  all  men,  friend  and  opponent  alike, 
without  regard  to  station  or  position,  very  properly,  when  it  is  his 
legitimate  and  unquestioned  right,  exacts  it  for  himself;  and,  recently, 
when  a  person  in  high  official  station  offered  him  a  gross  and  premed- 
itated indignity,  it  afforded  even  his  opponents  pleasure  to  see  him 
—  only  a  private  citizen  —  bring  the  official  offender  promptly  and 
humbly  to  his  knees. 

Ex-President  Pierce  has  been  a  resident  of  Concord  for  the  past  * 
thirty  years,  and  has  been  uniformly  an  active  promoter  of  all  its 
interests.  Generous  to  a  fault,  he  dispenses  his  moderate  means  in 
the  most  effective  way  to  alleviate  suffering  and  want,  and  sad  hearts, 
filled  with  gloom  and  dark  despair,  are  illuminated  by  his  sympathy 
and  gladdened  by  his  material  bounty. 

Hon.  Isaac  Hill  was  a  resident  of  Concord  for  more  than  forty 
years.  He  commenced  life  as  a  journeyman  printer,  but  rose  to  be 
an  editor,  and  wielded  a  powerful  political  influence  in  New  Hamp- 
shire for  many  years.  Energetic,  enterprising,  and  benevolent,  most 
decidedly  democratic  in  all  his  notions,  and  possessed  of  good  intel- 
lectual abilities  of  the  positive  kind,  he  vaulted  into  popular  favor 
and  was  honored  with  many  positions  of  trust  and  profit,  among 
which  may  be  mentioned  State  and  United  States  Senator  and 
Governor  of  New  Hampshire.  He  died  in  1850.  Ex-Governor 
Kent,  of  Maine,  a  %  gentleman  of  superior  abilities,  was  also  a  native 
of  Concord. 

That  Concord  is  not  a  transient  place  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the 


182  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

descendants  of  the  first  settlers  still  constitute  a  considerable  por- 
tion of  its  inhabitants,  such  as  the  Bradleys,  Stickneys,  Eastmans, 
Walkers,  Rolfes,  and  others,  many  of  them  still  occupying  the  same 
estates,  and  recognized  as  among  the  most  prominent  of  the  citizens 
of  Concord. 

In  1853  the  town  of  Concord  adopted  a  city  charter,  and  Gen. 
Joseph  Low  was  the  first  mayor. 

Several  bridges  span  the  Merrimack  at  Concord,  —  the  first  at 
Fisherville,  on  the  highway;  the  Boston,  Concord,  and  Montreal 
Railroad  bridge ;  the  upper  free  bridge,  anciently  known  as  the 
" Federal"  bridge  ;  the  lower  free  bridge,  on  the  highway  to  Pem- 
broke ;  and  the  Concord  and  Portsmouth  Railroad  bridge. 

The  Merrimack  River  is  a  broad,  placid  stream  from  Garvin's 
Falls,  four  miles  below  Concord,  to  the  foot  of  Webster's  Falls,  at  the 
forks  in  Franklin,  with  the  exception  of  Sewall's  Falls  towards  the 
north  part  of  Concord.  A  dam  was  constructed  at  Garvin's  Falls  a 
few  years  since  by  the  Amoskeag  Manufacturing  Company,  more 
particularly  to  avoid  losing  their  charter,  than  with  a  view  to  com- 
mencing manufacturing  operations  at  present. 

At  the  foot  of  Sewall's  Falls  is  Sewall's  Island,  formerly  known 
-  as  Pennacook  Island.     It  was  once  a  famous  resort  for  the  Indians, 
and  is  said  to  have  been  the  principal  residence  of  the  Sagamon  or 
Bashaba. 

Many  years  ago,  when  manufacturing  upon  the  Merrimack  had 
begun  in  earnest,  surveys  were  made  and  measures  taken  to  apply 
the  water-power  at  Sewall's  Falls  to  such  use.  The  track  of  the 
canal  was  marked  out,  and  some  excavations  made,  which  can  still 
be  traced ;  but  the  fall  being  inferior  to  many  others  on  the  river, 
and  there  being  difficulties  in  the  way  of  constructing  a  dam,  the 
project  was  ultimately  abandoned. 

Sometimes  when  the  snows  dissolve  upon  the  mountains,  and  the 
great  spring  floods  come  down,  the  river  overflows  its  banks  and 
deluges  the  broad  intervals,  presenting  the  appearance  of  a  vast  lake, 
and  often  doing  great  damage,  but  fertilizing  the  lands  by  irrigation 
and  the  sediment  which  is  deposited.  The  Soucook  River,  which  rises 
in  Gilmanton,  falls  into  the  Merrimack  at  Concord  on  its  east  bank. 
Much  of  the  land  bordering  this  stream  is  a  light  pine  plains  soil  5 
hence,  no  doubt,  its  Indian  name. 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  183 

Bow  was  granted,  in  1727,  to  Jonathan  Wiggin  and  others.  Long 
before  the  introduction  of  railroads  into  the  State  a  canal  was  con- 
structed around  Garvin's  Falls,  called  the  Bow  Canal,  to  facilitate  the 
navigation  of  the  Merrimack.  This  canal  is  twenty-five  feet  in 
perpendicular  height,  and  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  rods  in 
length,  cut  for  the  most  part  through  solid  granite,  and  was  well 
calculated  for  durability.  Turkey  River,  the  principal  stream  in 
this  town,  empties  into  the  Merrimack  at  Turkey  Falls,  a  mile  above 
Garvin's.  These  falls  have  likewise  been  improved,  making  the 
navigation  less  difficult. 

Samuel  Welch  died  in  Bow,  April  5,  1823,  at  the  remarkable  age 
of  one  hundred  and  thirteen  years.  He  was  born  in  Kingston, 
September  1st,  1710,  but  had  been  a  resident  of  Bow  for  fifty  years 
previous  to  his  decease.  His  life  had  been  a  quiet  one ;  he  was 
temperate  and  industrious,  and  cultivated  his  farm  until  he  was  a 
hundred  years  old. 

Hooksett  was  originally  called  Harrytown,  and  was  embraced  in 
several  of  the  early  grants.  It  was  finally  taken  from  the  territory 
of  each  of  the  towns  of  Chester,  Goffstown,  and  Dunbarton,  and 
incorporated  under  its  present  name  in  18^2.  Brick-making  is 
extensively  carried  on,  the  clay  being  peculiarly  adapted  to  this  pur- 
pose, and  several  millions  of  brick  are  made  annually.  Among  those 
early  engaged  in  this  business  was  Hon.  B,.  H.  Ayer,  then  a  resident 
of  Hooksett,  who  was  extensively  and  successfully  engaged  in  making 
brick  for  some  years.  Mr.  Ayer  was  a  gentleman  of  the  old  school, 
a  distinguished  son  of  New  Hampshire,  and  a  warm  personal  friend 
of  Daniel  Webster.  He  died  about  twelve  years  since  at  Manchester, 
where  he  had  resided  many  years,  possessed  of  an  ample  fortune, 
accumulated  by  a  long  life  of  enterprise  and  industry. 

The  "Pinnacle  "  is  a  high  rock  rising  abruptly  some  two  hundred 
feet  or  more  from  its  base,  at  which  there  is  a  beautiful  pond,  clear, 
and  of  great  depth ;  the  indications  are  strong,  and  to  some  conclu- 
sive, that  by  some  violent  convulsion  of  nature  this  rock  was  upheaved 
from  the  place  now  occupied  by  the  pond.  From  the  Pinnacle  is 
obtained  some  of  the  finest  specimens  of  crystallized  granite  quartz. 

The  Isles  of  Hooksett  Falls,  in  the  Merrimack,  at  Hooksett  Village, 
are  romantic  and  abrupt,  —  a  high  rock  standing  in  the  centre,  the  fall 
being  sixteen  feet  in  a  few  rods.  There  is  an  extensive  cotton  manu- 


184  THE  MEEEIMACK  EIVER; 

factory  owned  and  operated  by  the  Amoskeag  Company  of  Man- 
chester. 

To  facilitate  the  navigation  of  the  Merrimack,  a  canal  was  con- 
structed some  forty  years  since  around  these  falls  ;  it  was  about  eighty 
rods  long,  and  cost  over  six  thousand  dollars.  Two  bridges  span  the 
river  at  Hooksett  Village,  —  one  on  the  highway,  the  other  on  the 
Concord  Railroad. 

Some  years  ago  silver  and  lead  ore  were  discovered,  and  as  there 
were  indications  of  extensive  mines,  a  company  was  formed  to  operate 
them, 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  185 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

Amoskeag  Falls.  —  Indians.  —  Fisheries.  —  Manchester.  —  History  of  its  Manufactures.  — 
The  Starks.  —  City  Institutions.  —  Samuel  Blodget. 

ON  leaving  Hooksett  Falls,  the  back-set  of  the  Manchester  dam  is 
at  once  observed,  and  for  the  distance  of  eight  miles  before  arriving 
at  the  Amoskeag  Falls,  the  river  is  broad,  placid,  and  beautiful ;  not 
a  ripple  ruffles  its  surface.  It  is  bright,  clear,  and  deep,  and  about 
three  hundred  yards  in  breadth,  its  banks,  either  high  and  steep  and 
fringed  with  foliage,  or  broad,  rich  intervals,  while  the  gentle  swells 
rolling  back  from  the  river,  high  and  still  higher,  like  emerald  waves, 
are  dotted  with  neat  farm-houses,  orchards,  and  cultivated  fields ;  the 
great  hills  and  the  distant  sombre  forests  all  combine  to  give  this 
section  of  the  Merrimack  River  and  its  surrounding  territory  an  air 
of  pleasantness  and  thrift.  A  few  years  since  a  fine  steamboat  plied 
between  Amoskeag  and  Hooksett  Falls  for  the  accommodation  of  ex- 
cursion and  pleasure  parties  ;  but  the  admonitions  of  economy  have 
put  out  its  fires.  More  recently,  however,  the  Hon.  E.  A.  Straw 
has  run  a  beautiful  steam  yacht  on  his  own  account. 

Two  hundred  years  !  and  how  changed  the  scene !  From  a  desert 
wild  over  which  the  rude  barbarians  held  despotic  sway,  where  nature 
enveloped  in  a  primeval  panoply  of  shade  could  not,  nor  was  she 
invited  to,  display  the  diversity  and  perfection  of  her  features,  or  the 
generosity  of  her  bounty  and  good  will  to  man,  by  a  prospect  like 
this  throughout  the  red  man's  vast  domain.  Two  hundred  years 
have  rolled  the  vicissitudes  of  time  over  New  Hampshire,  and  marked 
ijheir  decades  as  strongly  and  visibly  in  her  physical  change  and 
improvement,  as  in  the  march  of  intellect  and  the  progress  of  civili- 
zation. At  that  time  interminable  woods,  clothed  in  luxuriant 
foliage,  shut  out  the  germinating  rays  of  a  genial  summer  sun,  and 
condemned  the  soil  to  worthlessriess  and  waste,  while  the  vast  water- 
power  of  the  Merrimack  swept  down  over  the  magnificent  falls  of  the 

24 


186  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVEE; 

Namoskeag  without  molestation,  and  they  who  owned  this  land,  now 
so  adorned  and  teeming  with  prosperity  and  wealth,  lived  upon  it  in 
wigwams  of  squalid  discomfort,  and  in  vagrant  idleness,  arrayed,  if 
at  all,  in  furs  wrought  in  fantastic  form,  or  in  the  picturesque 
costume  of  a  single  ornamented  blanket,  paint  and  plume  of  fancy- 
colored  feathers,  depending  on  the  ashen  bow,  the  rude  spear,  and  the 
ahquedauken  for  their  sustenance,  with  no  thought,  or  even  an  idea, 
of  progress  or  elevation  above  the  wretchedness  of  this  brutish  and 
vagabond  life. 

The  indications  of  the  great  change  which  two  centuries  have  made 
are  forcibly  presented  to  the  external  senses  in  the  substitution  of 
clear  and  cultivated  fields,  in  binding  and  detaining  the  mighty 
waters  of  the  Merrimack,  and  applying  its  great  power  to  the  benefit 
and  comfort  of  mankind ;  in  the  beautiful  city  where  industry  and 
thrift  are  companions ;  where  pavements  resound  with  the  tumultuous 
rush  and  rattle  of  busy  strife  in  place  of  the  stealthy  trail  of  the  lurk- 
ing savage ;  where  monster  mills  send  forth  the  pleasant  hum  of  in- 
dustry to  take  the  place  of  the  war-whoop ;  and  whose  neat,  convenient 
and  comfortable  dwellings  have  superseded  the  comfortless  hovel  of 
the  barbarian :  while  the  iron  horse,  with  almost  interminable  trains, 
rushes  along  the  river  bank,  —  as  much  of  an  improvement  on  the 
frail  bark  canoe  as  the  electric  telegraph  now  strung  along  the  river 
is  on  his  line  of  fleetest  runners. 

Namoskeag  was  a  famous  resort  for  the  Indians.  Indeed,  it  was 
the  home  of  a  tribe  whose  confederates  assembled  annually  around 
this  great  fishing-place,  and  were  welcomed  with  feasting,  revelry, 
and  savage  sports.  Here -also  came  old  "  Papisseconewa  "  (thepap- 
poose  or  child  of  the  bear),  the  principal  sagamon,  the  inferior  chiefs, 
prophets,  medicine-men,  and  other  dignitaries  of  the  confederate 
tribes,  who  watched  the  progress  and  success  of  the  fishermen, 
discussed  nnd  arranged  the  affairs  of  the  confederacy,  and  indulged  in 
or  witnessed  the  grotesque  entertainments  customary  on  such  occasions 
with  stolid  Indian  gravity ;  and  though  perhaps  not  so  demonstrative, 
evidently  enjoyed  the  entertainment  provided,  and  the  hospitalities 
of  their  hosts,  with  as  much  freedom  and  gusto  as  the  brave,  and 
squaw,  or  the  enthusiastic  and  irrepressible  youth. 

"  The  Namaoskeags  resided  at  the  falls  in  the  Merrimack  known  at 
present  by  the  name  of  Amoskeag  in  Manchester.  This  word,  written 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  187 

variously,  Namaske,  Narnaoskeag,  Naumkeag,  and  Nainkeak,  means 
fishing-place,  from  namaos  (a  fish)  and  auke  (a  place)." 

Of  the  three  great  principal-fishing  places  on  the  Merrimack,  Paw- 
tucket,  Namoskeag,  and  Winnipesaukee,  Namoskeag  was  considered 
the  best,  probably  because  of  the  greater  facility  of  taking  fish  afforded 
by  the  conformation  of  the  falls.  The  water  rushes  furiously  through 
several  narrow  gorges  or  channels  between  the  rocks,  the  least  rapid 
being  on  the  west  side,  and  falls  into  a  large  eddy,  and  to  this  they 
most  likely  crowded,  as  the  rush  of  water  from  above,  and  the  fish 
from  below,  prevented  the  ascent  of  large  numbers,  until  after  repeated 
efforts  they  would  fall  back  into  the  eddy  below,  and  the  Indians, 
having  a  weir  or  kind  of  seine  around  the  eddy  (except  a  narrow 
opening  on  the  side  next  to  the  falls  for  their  admission),  could  take 
them  at  will. 

In  the  fishing-season  the  Indians  were  engaged  in  taking  the  fish, 
the  squaws  preparing  them  for  the  table,  for  preservation,  and  for 
barter,  while  the  night  was  passed  in  dancing  and  feasting.  At 
these  fishing-seasons  lovers'  vows  were  plighted,  marriages  were  con- 
summated, speeches  made,  and  treaties  formed.  Particular  periods 
and  important  events  were  marked  and  celebrated  among  them  with 
great  ceremony.  Among  the  established  institutions,  or  customs,  may 
be  mentioned  ttie  Recruiting  or  Fire  Brand  Dance,  when  the  declara- 
tion of  war  had  been  announced  by  the  chief. 

"  By  the  red  sun's  parting  glance 
They  gathered  for  the  warrior's  dance ; 
First  in  a  circle  wide  they  stand, 
Each  with  an  arrow  in  his  hand ; 
Then  crouching,  and  with  bended  bow, 
They  step  to  measure  light  and  slow ; 
Now  quicker  with  a  savage  flurry, 
They  circle  round  and  hurry,  hurry ; 
Now  the  ring  breaks,  and  leaping,  yelling, 
In  one  discordant  chorus  swelling ; 
Then  tomahawks  are  brandished  high ; 
Their  shouts  re-echo  from  the  sky ; 
Their  blood-stained  nostrils  opened  wide; 
Their  foaming  lips  all  dark  and  gory, 
Make  up  the  red  man's  scene  of  glory."  —  STARK. 

"Brushwood,  pitch-knots,  clubs,  and  sticks  were  gathered  in  an 
immense  pile  near  the  wigwam  of  the  sagamon.  He  and  his  principal 


188  THE  MEEE1MACK  EIVEE; 

chiefs  formed  a  ring  around  this  pile  of  brush,  sitting  cross-legged 
upon  the  ground ;  next  to  these  the  warriors  formed  a  second  ring, 
and  back  of  these  the  old  men,  women,  and  children  were  mixed 
without  order  or  rank.  The  pile  being  fired  in  due  time,  the  princi- 
pal chief  stepped  into  the  ring,  and  dancing  around  flourished  his 
tomahawk  and  knife,  naming  his  exploits,  and  the  people  with  whom 
he  was  at  enmity.  At  the  mention  of  every  enemy  he  would  strike 
the  fire  with  his  hatchet,  seize  a  brand,  flourish  it  about  in  number- 
less vibrations  with  his  hands,  and,  contorting  his  body  into  every 
conceivable  shape,  he  would  bury  his  hatchet  deep  in  the  ground  and 
leave  the  ring.  Others  would  follow,  and  in  the  same  manner  dance 
about  the  fire  and  fight  it,  closing  with  burying  their  hatchets  in  the 
ground,  till  the  whole  of  the  warriors  inclined  to  follow  the  war-path 
had  joined  in  the  dance.  Every  man  who  joined  in  the  dance  was 
considered  as  enlisted  for  the  war."  This  ceremony  was  always 
performed  in  the  night ;  but  when  the  exigencies  of  the  case  required 
immediate  action,  a  ceremony  of  the  same  signification  was  performed 
in  the  daytime. 

"  Around  a  sapling  in  the  grove,  or  one  standing  near  the  wig- 
wam of  the  sagamon,  after  relating  their  adventures  as  they  danced 
about  the  ring,  each  warrior  closed  his  dance  by  striking  his  toma- 
hawk into  the  sapling ;  and  every  one  who  struck  the  sapling  was 
claimed  as  a  volunteer  upon  the  war-path.  The  chief  then  appointed 
his  rendezvous,  and  the  warriors  repaired  to  their  wigwams  to  make 
their  slight  preparations  for  their  departure." 

The  Scalp  Dance  was  performed  by  the  braves  on  their  return 
home  from  the  war-path  when  success  had  crowned  their  arms. 

"  Each  Indian  hung  to  his  girdle  the  scalp  locks  he  had  taken  in 
other  wars,  if  he  had  taken  any,  while  the  fresh  scalps  were  held  by 
the  hair  between  his  teeth.  The  Indians,  thus  garnished  with  these 
horrid  trophies,  took  a  stooping  posture,  so  that  the  scalps  suspended 
from  their  teeth  might  not  touch  their  bodies,  and  in  such  positions 
commenced  the  most  nideous  cries  and  furious  stamping,  jumping, 
and  dancing  a"bout  like  mad  men,  ever  and  anon  taking  the  scalps 
from  their  teeth  to  recite  the  incidents  connected  with  the  killing  of 
the  enemy,  and  then  replacing  them,  to  continue  the  frantic  dance 
with  redoubled  fury. 

"  These  dances  were  truly  horrible,  and  led  Nathaniel  Segar,  who 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  189 

witnessed  one  in  1781,  on  the  sources  of  the  Amariscoggin,  as 
performed  by  Tom  Hegon  and  his  party,  to  this  quaint  and 
laconic  description.  '  Their  actions  are  inconceivable.  It  would 
seem  that  Bedlam  had  brooken  loose,  and  that  h — 1  was  in  an 
uproar."1 

Sometimes  a  drum  was  improvised  by  taking  a  section  of  a  hollow 
log,  and  stretching  a  deer-skin  over  the  end ;  this  beaten  lustily  with 
a  stick,  in  connection  with  the  chanting  of  singers,  served  for  a 
quadrille  band. 

The  city  of  Manchester  has  been  granted  and  regranted,  in  whole 
or  in  part,  many  times,  and  under  many  different  names.  It  was  first 
incorporated  September  3d,  1751,  under  the  name  of  Derry field;  but 
its  settlement  was  commenced  as  early  as  1720  around  the  mouth  of 
Cohas  Brook  and  Goffe's  Falls,  and  in  the  neighborhood  of  Amoskeag 
Falls.  Some  of  these  early  settlers  came  from  Massachusetts,  while 
others  came  from  the  Scotch-Irish  settlements  at  Nutfield  or  Lon- 
donderry. This  last-mentioned  colony  was  composed  of  resolute  and 
sturdy  men,  most  of  whom  had  descended  from  those  stubborn  Scotch 
Protestants  who  had  fled  to  the  north  of  Ireland  to  escape  persecu- 
tion. In  1718,  hearing  of  a  land  where  religious  toleration  was  the 
rule,  one  hundred  and  twenty  families,  severing  every  tie  that  bound 
them  to  the  Old  World,  embarked  on  the  trackless  ocean  in  search 
of  it,  and  landed  safely  in  New  England.  In  the  following  year, 
having  procured  a  title  to  this  tract  in  the  "  Chestnut  country  " 
from  Mr.  John  Wheelwright,  grandson  of  Rev.  John  Wheelwright, 
to  whom  all  this  territory  had  formerly  been  deeded  by  Passacona- 
way  and  his  associates,  sixteen  families,  under  the  lead  of  Parson 
McGregor,  settled  in  Nutfield,  giving  it  the  name  of  the  county  from 
whence  they  had  emigrated. 

"  They  were  Presbyterians.  They  lived  in  that  age  of  enthusiasm 
when  the  adherents  of  old  and  new  creeds  gloried  in  the  name  of 
martyrs,  and  dissenters  demanded  (what  they  were  seldom  willing  to 
grant)  unlimited  freedom  of  religious  opinion.  These  emigrants 
were  proud  to  enjoy  and  gloried  in  vindicating  the  Presbyterian 
faith.  They  were  descended  from  men  by  whom  that  doctrine  had 
been  maintained  with  a  spirit  of  independence  unequalled  in  any 
State  in  Europe,  and  hardly  surpassed  by  the  firmness  and  valor  by 
which  their  more  remote  ancestors,  unawed  by  the  terror  of  the  Ro- 


190  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

man  name,  defended  their  moors  and  marshes  against  the  conquering 
arms  of  Agricola." 

Many  of  those  who  composed  this  colony  were  men  of  mark  and 
note  in  Ireland,  and  became  eminent  historic  characters  in  this 
country.  Among  those  were  John  McNiel,  who  settled  near  the 
falls,  after  reaching  Londonderry.  He  served  in  expeditions  against 
the  Indians,  and,  being  a  man  of  great  frame,  six  feet  and  a  half  in 
his  moccasins,  well  proportioned,  athletic,  and  powerful,  he  was 
feared  and  avoided  by  the  red  man  and  by  the  white  who  had  in- 
curred his  displeasure.  Gen.  John  McNiel,  a  distinguished  officer 
in  the  war  of  1812,  was  his  great-grandson,  and  his  counterpart  in 
physique. 

Gen.  McNiel  retired  from  the  service  in  1830,  was  appointed  sur- 
veyor of  the  port  of  Boston,  and  held  the  office  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  at  Washington,  D.  C.,  in  1850. 

Archibald  Stark  also  settled  near  the  falls,  and  his  second  son, 
John,  was  the  victorious  brigadier  at  Bennington,  meeting  and  de- 
feating a  superior  force  of  Burgoyne's  army.  Archibald  Stark  was 
an  educated  man,  and  a  prominent  actor  in  the  stirring  events  of  that 
period.  He  built  a  fort  for  the  protection  of  the  colony,  near  what 
is  now  known  as  Nutt's  Pond,  near  the  residence  of  Rodnia  Nutt, 
Esq.,  father  of  "  Commodore  Nutt,"  a  mile  from  the  City  Hall,  which 
was  called  Fort  Stark.  He  died  in  1758. 

John  Goffe  settled  near  the  falls  which  bear  his  name.  He  was 
a  colonel  in  the  service  of  the  province,  and  a  man  of  considerable 
note.  The  house  in  which  he  resided  was  repaired  the  present  year, 
when  it  was  found  that  the  roof  had  been  originally  shingled  with 
birch  bark. 

The  fisheries  at  Amoskeag  were  an  important  interest  to  the  set- 
tlers, as  they  had  previously  been  to  the  Indians,  and  for  many  years 
hundreds  of  men  came  together  at  the  falls  and  drew  largely  from 
them  for  the  subsistence  of  their  families,  and  though  so  many,  there 
were  fish  enough  for  all  comers.  One  man  had  equal  rights  with  an- 
other ;  the  rule  which  secured  the  rights  of  each  being  tacitly  under- 
stood and  generally  respected,  any  infringement  being  settled  on  the 
spot  by  what  was  termed  "  Scotch  argument." 

"The  view  of  the  fishermen  while  on  duty  at  the  falls  was  a 
scene  of  no  small  interest,  — a  hundred  men  in  their  torn  and  ragged 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TEIRUTAEIES.  191 

costumes ;  some  half  hid  in  the  surrounding  gloom,  others  conspicu- 
ous on  lofty  roeks,  which  reflected  the  gleam  of  their  watch-fires, 
moving  in  every  possible  direction,  and  with  every  variety  of  motion, 
throwing  the  'scoop-net,'  handling  the  'squirming  eels,'  covered 
with  blood  and  slime,  inseparable  from  their  occupation ;  some  fighting, 
and  all  shouting  at  the  top  of  their  voices,  —  formed  a  scene  worthy 
of  Pandemonium  itself.  I  suppose  we  have  no  idea  of  the  immense 
numbers  of  fish  with  which  this  river  once  abounded.  My  father  has 
seen  the  shad  so  thick  as  to  crowd  each  other  in  their  passage  up  the 
falls  to  gain  the  smooth  water  above,  so  that  you  could  not  put  in 
your  hand  without  touching  some  of  them,  and  yet  there  were  more 
alewives  than  shad,  and  more  eels  than  both.  It  is  no  wonder  eels 
were  called  'Derryfield  beef,'  for  I  have  heard  those  say  who  would 
be  good  judges  in  the  matter,  that  eels  enough  were  salted  down  in  a 
single  year  to  be  equal  to  three  hundred  head  of  cattle.  There  was 
one  great  advantage  about  the  '  lamprey  eel.'  It  had  no  bones  ex- 
cept in  the  head,  and,  as  that  was  never  eaten,  it  made  safe  food  for 
the  children."  * 

This  was  after  the  fishing  was  confined  to  the  immediate  vicinity  of 
the  Falls,  and  long  after  the  ancient  "  Namoskeag"  had  been  reduced 
from  its  original  proportions  to  the  falls  and  vicinity.  It  appears 
that  the  Namoskeag  of  the  Indians  extended  from,  and  included, 
Goffe's  Falls  to  Concord,  thus  being  made  up  of  Goffe's,  Short's, 
and  Griffin's,  Hooksett,  Merrill's,  Amoskeag,  Garvin's,  and  Turkey 
Falls ;  and  their  fame  early  extended  even  beyond  the  limits  of  our 
own  country,  and  a  curious  communication  from  Cotton  Mather,  re- 
ferring to  some  of  the  natural  curiosities  still  to  be  seen  at  the  Falls, 
was  published  in  the  "  Philosophical  Transactions,"  a  scientific  pub- 
lication of  London,  which  reads  thus  :  — 

"  At  a  place  called  Ammuskeag,  a  little  above  the  hideous  falls 
of  Merrimack  River,  there  is  a  huge  rock  in  the  midst  of  the  stream, 
on  the  top  of  which  are  a  great  number  of  pits,  made  exactly  round 
like  barrels,  or  hogsheads  of  different  capacities,  some  so  large  as  to 
hold  several  tons.  The  natives  knew  nothing  of  the  time  they  were 
made ;  but  the  neighboring  Indians  have  been  wont  to  hide  their 
provisions  in  them  in  the  wars  with  the  Maquas.  God  had  cut 

*  Extract  from  remarks  of  William  Stark,  Esq.,  at  Manchester  Centennial  Celebration, 
October  22,  1851. 


192  THE  MERKIMACK  EIVEE; 

them  out  for  that  purpose  for  them.  They  seem  plainly  to  be 
artificial." 

This  is  an  illustration  of  the  explosion  of  mere  theories,  showing 
that  the  belief  of  saint  and  sinner  alike,  unsustained  by  evidence, 
•will  certainly  dissolve  before  the  bright  rays  of  the  sun  of  knowledge 
and  of  truth.  Some  idea  of  the  importance  of  this  place,  and  the 
immense  amount  of  fish  taken,  may  be  had  from  the  fact  that  a  cart 
full  could  be  had  for  a  pint  of  "  Old  Medford;  "  shad,  often  for 
hauling  away,  to  make  room  for  dressing  salmon  and  eels.  Some 
slight  idea  may  be  had  by  the  following  item  from  the  ' '  New  Hamp- 
shire Gazette,"  May  23,  1760  :  - 

"One  day  last  week  was  drawn  by  a  net,  at  one  draught,  two 
thousand  five  hundred  odd  shad  fish  out  of  the  River  Merrimack. 
Thought  remarkable  by  some  people." 

As  fish  became  less  plentiful,  certain  points  on  and  about  the 
Falls  were  the  most  desirable  positions.  These  places  were  held  for 
the  time  being  by  the  right  of  possession,  and  the  claim  was  not 
disputed. 

Indian  relics  have  been  collected  in  the  vicinity  in  endless  num- 
bers and  great  variety,  several  large  collections  being  in  the  pos- 
session of  individuals,  and  there  is  also  a  small  assortment  at  the 
State  Reform  School.  Mr.  Samuel  Kidder  has  a  very  extensive 
assortment;  and  the  collection  of  Ezra  Huntington,  Esq.,  a  member 
of  the  present  and  last  Board  of  Aldermen  of  Manchester,  though 
not  so  extensive  as  some,  is  remarkably  excellent  in  the  perfection 
of  the  specimens. 

There  are  four  bridges  across  the  Merrimack  at  Manchester: 
one  directly  across  the  Falls  •;  another  at  the  foot  of  Granite  Street ; 
the  New  Hampshire  Central  Railroad  Bridge,  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Piscataquog  River ;  and  the  Concord  Railroad  Bridge,  at  Goffe's 
Falls. 

October  29th,  172T,  a  severe  shock  of  an  earthquake  was  felt 
along  the  Merrimack  Valley,  probably  the  most  severe  of  anything 
that  was  ever  experienced  in  this  country.  Chimneys  were  thrown 
down,  furniture  and  dishes  were  scattered  about  the  rooms  promis- 
cuously, and  the  people  filled  with  consternation,  many  supposing 
that  the  end  of  all  sublunary  things  had  surely  come,  and  "those  now 
prayed  who  never  prayed  before,  and  those  who  had  prayed  now 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  190 

prayed  the  more."  Tradition  has  it  that  the  alarm  even  spread 
among  the  brutes ;  and  cattle,  terrified  at  the  trembling  and  oscilla- 
tion of  the  earth,  ran  bellowing  about  the  fields. 

About  half  a  mile  above  Amoskeag  Falls  the  Merrimack  River 
receives  3  stream  known  as  Black  Brook,  from  the  peculiar  inky 
appearance  of  its  waters.  Its  source  is  in  Dunbarton,  and  it  falls 
into  the  Merrimack  on  its  west  bank,  having  a  good  water-power, 
and  several  mills  and  shops  a  little  distance  from  the  river. 

"The  Merrimack  River  passes  over  Amoskeag  Falls,  which  are 
the  highest  on  the  whole  course  of  the  river.  These  Falls,  being  in 
all  about  fifty-four  feet  perpendicular  height,  are  justly  regarded  as 
a  very  striking  natural  curiosity.  The  river  here  spreads  out  to 
three  times  its  usual  width,  and  is  divided  into  several  channels  by 
rocks  and  small  islands.  The  accumulated  waters  of  the  numerous 
streams,  which  drain  a  large  portion  of  the  State,  rush  through  the 
various  rough  channels  into  which  the  river  is  divided  with  great 
velocity,  and  with  a  noise  that  may  be  heard  for  many  miles. 

"  Near  the  upper  and  greatest  falls  several  circular  holes,  some 
of  them  more  than  eight  feet  in  diameter,  have  been  worn  to  a  con- 
siderable depth  perpendicularly  into  solid  rock.  It  is  supposed  to  have 
been  done  by  small  stones  put  in  motion  by  the  force  of  the  current. 
In  these  holes  the  Indians  who  formerly  inhabited  the  country  around 
the  falls  concealed  their  provisions  in  time  of  danger."  * 

The  largest  of  the  wells  referred  to  have  been  found  to  measure 
sixteen  feet  perpendicular  depth.  Just  below  the  falls  there  is  an 
island,  on  which  are  several  houses  and  a  bleachery,  where  the  cotton 
goods  made  in  Manchester  are  bleached. 

The  first  manufacturing  business  known  to  have  been  done  at  these 
falls  was  by  the  Amoskeag  Cotton  and  Wool  Factory,  which  commenced 
operations  some  time  about  1809,  and  appears  to  have  been  owned 
and  operated  by  Benjamin  Pritchard ;  but,  soon  after,  it  seems,  for 
some  reason,  Pritchard  made  it  a  joint  stock  company,  an  extract 
from  the  records  reading  as  follows :  — 

"  At  a  legal  meeting  of  the  Directors  of  the  Amoskeag  Cotton  and 
Wool  Factory,  being  duly  notified  and  holden  at  the  house  of  Robert 
McGregor,  Esq.,  in  Gofistown,  March  9th,  1810,  present  James 

*  Geography  of  New  Hampshire. 
25 


194  TEE  MEEEIMACK  EIVEE; 

Parker,  Samuel  P.  Kidder,  John  Stark,  Jr.,  David  McQueston,  and 
Benjamin  Pritchard." 

There  were  several  other  directors,,  whose  names  appear  at  subse- 
quent meetings ;  the  name  of  Jotham  Gillis  being  signed  as  clerk. 
In  1813,  Frederick  G.  Stark,  Esq.  (the  late  Judge  Sterk),  was 
appointed  agent  of  this  company,  with  a  salary  of  one  hundred  and 
eighty  dollars  per  year. 

The  factory  was  nearly  forty  feet  square  and  two  stories  high, 
and  was  situated  midway  between  the  head  and  foot  of  the  falls, 
directly  below  the  west  end  of  Amoskeag  Bridge. 

The  cotton  used  in  this  factory  was  parcelled  out  among  the 
families  of  the  neighborhood  to  be  ginned  at  four  cents  per  pound, 
and  the  yarn  was  woven  by  hand  at  the  various  houses  where  women 
were  the  fortunate  possessors  of  a  loom. 

11 1  have  examined  the  accounts,  kept  in  the  beautiful  round  hand 
of  Judge  Stark,  for  the  month  of  October,  1813,  for  fifteen  days  in 
succession.  During  that  month,  there  were  manufactured  at  Amos- 
keag, three  hundred  and  fifty-eight  skeins  per  day  of  cotton  yarn. 
This  was  about  the  average  amount:  this  three  hundred  and  fifty- 
eight  skeins  at  factory  price  was  worth  twenty-nine  dollars  and 
twenty-two  cents."  * 

In  1826  the  mill  was  enlarged,  and  the  foundation  was  put  in  for 
another,  which  was  subsequently  built,  on  the  island.  These  mills 
were  both  destroyed  by  fire,  — that  on  the  island  in  1840,  — and  the 
old  Amoskeag  mill  was  burned  in  1848,  and  has  not  been  rebuilt. 

Operations  in  the  manufacture  of  cotton  at  Amoskeag  Falls  having 
been  commenced  in  1809,  the  business  continued,  though  not  re- 
munerative, until  about  1816,  when  work  was  stopped,  probably  for 
want  of  sufficient  encouragement.  In  1822,  Olney  Robinson  pur- 
chased the  property  and  resumed  operations;  but  being  inclined  to 
outside  speculation  rather  than  to  his  legitimate  business,  the 
property  soon  fell  into  the  hands  of  Lamed  Pitcher  and  Samuel 
Slater,  for  liabilities  incurred.  In  1825,  Willard  Sayles  and  Ly- 
man  Tiffany,  —  of  the  firm  of  Sayles,  Tiffany  &  Hitchcock  (now 
Gardner  Brewer  &  Co.), — Dr.  Oliver  Dean  and  Ziba  Gay,  were 
admitted  to  a  partnership,  and,  under  the  new  firm,  business  at  once 
revived.  From  this  period  dates  the  continued  prosperity  and  in- 

*  Rev.  C.  W.  Wallace,  D.  D. 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  195 

crease  in  the  production  of  textiles  at  Amoskeag  Falls.  Their  suc- 
cess suggested  and  encouraged  an  extension  of  the  business,  and 
through  the  sagacity  and  enterprise  of  Dr.  Dean  the  firm  promptly 
but  quietly  took  measures  for  securing  control  of  the  water  privilege 
and  adjacent  lands.  This  was  accomplished,  the  plan  of  a  large 
manufacturing  city  was  matured,  capitalists  were  induced  to  sub- 
scribe liberally,  and  in  1831  the  Amoskeag  Manufacturing  Company 
was  incorporated.  The  property  of  the  firm  was  owned  by  the  part- 
ners in  eighths,  and  was  transferred,  or  merged  in  the  new  company 
at  a  stipulated  valuation,  being  exchanged  for  the  new  stock.  The 
Amoskeag  Company  also  secured  the  privilege  and  the  property  at 
Hooksett,  which  had  a  capital  of  two  hundred  thousand  dollars ;  the 
fall  at  that  place  is  sixteen  feet  in  perpendicular  height,  and  is  rated 
at  a-capacity  of  one  hundred  thousand  spindles.  This  concern  was 
operated  by  them  until  1865,  when  the  franchise  and  all  the  proper- 
ty was  sold  and  transferred  by  consent  of  the  Legislature  to  a  sepa- 
rate company,  and  legislative  permission  was  obtained  by  them  to 
increase  the  capital  stock  to  one  million  dollars. 

Too  much  credit  cannot  be  awarded  the  founders  of  the  Amoskeag 
Company  and  of  Manchester.  Launching,  as  they  did,  on  this  voyage 
over  an  almost  unexplored  and  trackless  region  of  enterprise,  filled 
with  unseen  and  treacherous  rocks  and  reefs  and  counter-currents, 
and  swept  by  adverse  winds,  the  result  has  exhibited  their 
courage  and  sagacity,  demonstrated  their  wisdom  and  ability,  and 
rewarded  their  faith  and  perseverance.  Embarking  their  fortunes, 
their  best  efforts,  and  their  hopes  in  the  scheme,  they  permitted  no 
obstacle  to  impede  their  progress,  indulged  neither  fear  nor  doubt, 
relaxed  no  effort,  and  were  crowned  with  abundant  success.  Few 
corporations,  if  any,  stand  higher,  either  in  the  celebrity  of  its  prod- 
ucts or  financial  soundness,  than  the  Amoskeag  Company,  which  is 
of  itself  a  proud  monument  to 'the  wisdom  of  its  founders,  and  the 
integrity,  liberality,  and  ability  of  those  who  have  had  the  manage- 
ment of  its  affairs.  It  was  the  good  fortune  of  Manchester  to  be  the 
natural  centre  of  a  populous  district,  whose  agricultural,  and  other 
interests  it  has  enhanced,  and  in  turn  derived  great  benefit  there- 
from. By  this  reciprocity,  which  has  added  largely  to  her  indi- 
vidual interests  and  enterprise,  Manchester  has  a  valuable  auxiliary 
to  prosperity  and  growth  independent  of  manufacturing,  which  has 


196  THE  HEREIN ACK  RIVER; 

heretofore  been  her  chief  reliance.  Of  the  most  eminent  men  who 
originated,  and  were  mainly  instrumental  in  rearing  what  is  now, 
perhaps,  in  many  respects,  the  finest  manufacturing  city  in  New 
England,  Judge  Potter,  in  his  very  excellent  history  of  Manchester, 
has  given  the  following  brief  but  interesting* sketches.  The  venera- 
ble Dr.  Dean  is  still  president  of  the  Amoskeag  and  Manchester 
corporations. 

"  Oliver  Dean  was  born  in  Franklin,  County  of  Norfolk,  Mass., 
Feb.  10,  1783.  After  getting  a  good  academic  education  for  the 
times,  he  commenced  the  study  of  medicine  with  Dr.  Mann,  of 
Wrentham,  and  finished  his  studies  with  Dr.  Ingalls,  of  Boston, 
graduating  at  the  Medical  College  of  Massachusetts  in  1809.  He 
commenced  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Medway  the  same  year ; 
where  he  continued  about  a  year,  moving  into  Boston  in  1810. 
While  in  Boston,  he  married  Miss  Caroline  Francoeur,  daughter  of 
John  Francoeur,  Esq.,  a  gentleman  of  respectability  and  wealth, 
who  had  fled  from  France  during  the  French  Revolution.  Dr.  Dean 
tarried  in  Boston  a  year  and  a  half,  when,  in  consequence  of  the 
stagnation  of  -business  incident  to  the  war,  he  moved  back  to  Med- 
way, where  he  continued  in  the  profitable  practice  of  his  profession 
until  1817.  In  that  year,  in  connection  with  his  brother-in-law, 
Willard  Sayles,  Esq.,  he  commenced  the  business  of  manufacturing 
in  Medway.  He  continued  in  this  business  with  success,  until  the 
fall  of  1825,  when  he,  in  connection  with  Lyman  Tiffany  and  Wil- 
lard Sayles,  of  Boston,  and  Lamed  Pitcher  and  Samuel  Slater,  of 
Pawtucket,  R.  I.,  purchased  the  property  of  the  Amoskeag  Manu- 
facturing Company  at  Amoskeag  Village,  in  Goffstown.  This 
property  had  been  purchased,  in  1822,  by  Mr.  Olney  Robinson,  of 
Pawtucket,  who  had  operated  the  mills,  but  to  no  advantage ;  and 
they  had  mainly  passed  into  the  hands  of  Messrs.  Pitcher  and  Slater, 
to  secure  an  indebtedness  to  them  for  money  and  machinery. 
Robinson  had  made  purchases  of  the  large  farms  known  as  the 
'McGregor  farm,'  and  the  ' Blodget  farm,'  and  other  real  estate, 
and  thus,  in  connection  with  his  other  operations,  had  become  very 
much  embarrassed. 

"When  the  purchase  was  made  of  him  he  expected  to  have  been 
continued  as  agent,  but  it  was  soon  found  that  he  was  entirely  inade- 
quate to  the  business,  and  Dr.  Dean  was  induced,  though  reluct- 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  197 

antly,  to  take  the  agency  of  the  company.  Accordingly,  in  the 
spring  of  1826,  he  moved  to  Amoskeag  and  entered  upon  his  duties 
as  agent.  This  may  be  considered  as  the  successful  starting-point 
of  manufacturing  at  this  place.  Possessed  of  a  competent  knowledge 
as  a  manufacturer,  and  a  man  of  enterprise  and  energy,  everything 
about  the  premises  soon  began  to  assume  a  new  aspect.  The  Bell 
Mill  had  been  built  for  a  machine-shop,  to  be  under  the  management 
of  Mr.  Ira  Gay,  of  Nashua  ;  this  was  immediately  enlarged  and  fitted 
up  with  machinery  for  the  manufacture  of  tickings,  in  which  Dr. 
Dean  had  excelled  in  Medway  and  Walpole.  Soon  the  works 
were  extended,  and  the  island  mill  was  built,  and  fitted  up  for  the 
manufacture  of  tickings.  The  tickings  manufactured  here  soon  ac- 
quired a  reputation  unequalled,  which  they  retained  under  the  name 
of  '  A.  C.  A.  Tickings.'  But  Dr.  Dean's  time  was  not  confined 
exclusively  to  manufacturing,  —  every  other  interest  connected  with 
the  prosperity  of  the  town  and  village  came  in  for  his  attention. 
He  was  a  pattern  farmer,  and  the  large  farm  below  the  falls,  and 
which  had  become  impoverished  and  overgrown  with  brambles  and 
bushes,  from  bad  husbandry,  soon  began  to  present  a  new  face  under 
his  intelligent  care,  and,  from  being  one  of  the  poorest,  eame  to 
be  one  of  the  best,  in  the  town.  The  success  attending  manufactur- 
ing under  his  charge  soon  attracted  the  attention  of  other  capital- 
ists, and  the  project  was  started  of  occupying  tike  entire  water- 
power  at  this  place  for  manufacturing  purposes.  It  is  needless  to 
remark  that  Dr.  Dean  was  the  soul  of  this,  enterprise.  In  June, 
1831,  the  Amoskeag  Manufacturing  Company  was  chartered,  Dr. 
Dean  being  the  first  grantee ;  and  at  the  organization  of  the  company 
under  this  charter,  in  July  of  the  same  year,  he  was  chosen  president 
of  the  corporation.  He  was  continued  agent  and  treasurer  of  the 
company  until  1834,  when  he  declined  the  agency,  having  deter- 
mined to  live  a  more  quiet  life,  and  retired  upon  a  beautiful  farm  in 
Framingham,  Mass.  He  was  still  treasurer  of  the  corporation,  but 
declined  this  office  in  1836,  and  was  succeeded  by  John  A,  Lowell, 
Esq.,  of  Boston.  He  still  continued  on  the  board  of  direction,  and, 
in  1853,  upon  the  death  of  Joseph  Tilden,  Esq.,  he  was  again 
chosen  president  of  the  corporation,  which  office  he  retains  at  the 
present  time.  In  1847,  he  was  chosen  president  of  the  Manchester 
Mills  Corporation,  and  through  its  various-  changes,  has  remained  a 


198  THE  MEEEIMACK  EIVEE; 

director  of  the  same,  and  its  president.  In  1843,  Dr.  Dean  moved 
from  Framingham  to  Boston,  where  he  now  resides.  Dr.  Dean  may 
be  emphatically  placed  down  as  one  of  the  Fathers  of  the  City  of 
Manchester,  as  few  men  have  done  more  for  its  existence  and  its 
prosperity.  Active,  intelligent,  and  communicative ;  dignified  yet 
courteous  ;  careful  of  his  own  interest,  yet  interested  in  the  welfare 
of  others ;  in  a  word,  acting  upon  the  principle  of  'live  and  let  live,' 
Dr.  Oliver  Deanrs  name  stands  prominent  among  the  founders  of 
our  city,  and  is  ever  retained  in  grateful  remembrance. 

"  The  gentlemen  now  having  control  of  the  company  had  a  proper 
estimate  of  the  capacity  of  the  hydraulic  power  at  the  falls,  and  the 
ability  to  avail  themselves  of  its  advantages ;  they  therefore  very 
quietly  commenced  the  purchase  of  the  lands  in  the  neighborhood, 
and  were  soon  the  owners  of  the  adjacent  lands  upon  the  west  side 
of  the  Merrimack,  that  were  likely  to  be  needed  for  extensive  manu- 
facturing operations,  or  that  would  be  enhanced  in  value,  by  the 
building  up  of  a  manufacturing  city.  Gradually,  some  of  the 
largest  capitalists  of  Boston  and  its  vicinity  became  identified  with 
the  enterprise,  and  it  was  determined  to  commence  manufacturing 
upon  an  extended  scale.  Accordingly,  in  1831,  the  charter  for 
'The  Amoskeag  Manufacturing  Company'  was  obtained,  with  a 
capital  of  one  million  six  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

"  The  first  meeting  of  the  grantees  was  holden  July  13,  1831, 
when  Oliver  Dean  was  chosen  president,  and  Ira  Gay,  clerk.  The 
act  of  incorporation  was  accepted;  the  stock  of  the  old  company 
became  merged  in  the  new  one,  at  an  appraised  value,  and  the  re- 
mainder of  the  stock  was  taken  up  in  a  short  time.  At  the  annual 
meeting,  July  12,  1832,  Dr.  Dean  was  chosen  agent  of  the  company. 
They  soon  determined  to  enlarge  their  operations,  and  to  take 
means  to  have  their  water-power  occupied.  The  plan  of  this  com- 
pany was  to  furnish  other  companies,  disposed  to  locate  here,  with 
sites  for  their  mills,  and  run  them  upon  their  own  account ;  and  at 
the  same  time  to  put  their  lands  into  market  in  lots  for  houses, 
shops,  and  stores,  and  thus  build  up  a  manufacturing  town,  at  the 
same  time  that  they  greatly  enhanced  the  value  of  their  own  prop- 
erty. A  reconnoissance  by  competent  engineers  developed  the  fact 
that  the  east  bank  of  the  Merrimack  was  the  most  feasible  for  their 
operations,  both  as  a  track  for  their  canals,  and  a  site  for  their 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.       •  199 

mills;  and,  in  1835,  they  succeeded  in  securing  the  most  of  the 
lands  upon  the  east  side  of  the  Merrimack  that  by  any  possible 
contingency  might  be  necessary  for  them. 

'  Willard  Sayles  was  born  in  the  town  of  Franklin,  County  of 
Norfolk,  Mass.,  in  April,  1792.  While  yet  a  child  his  father  re- 
moved to  Wrentham.  In  1821,  Mr.  Sayles  moved  to  Boston,  and 
entered  upon  commercial  pursuits  in  company  with  Lyman  Tiffany, 
Esq.  They  soon  became  extensively  engaged  in  manufacturing. 
His  first  investments  in  manufacturing  were  in  Medway  and  Wai- 
pole,  Mass.  At  last,  as  his  business  extended,  he  became  connected 
with  other  establishments,  and,  among  them,  with  the  mills  at 
Amoskeag  and  at  Hooksett.  In  the  latter,  he  became  the  largest 
owner ;  having,  at  the  time  of  its  being  merged  with  the  Amoskeag 
Manufacturing  Company  in  1835,  twenty-four  out  of  seventy-two 
shares  in  thaj  corporation.  From  this  time  until  the  time  of  his 
death,  Mr.  Sayles  became  largely  identified  with  the  operations  of 
the  companies  in  this  place.  He  was  a  director  in  the  Amoskeag 
Manufacturing  Company,  and  one  of  the  committee  to  purchase  the 
lands  belonging  to  that  company  in  this  neighborhood.  Shrewd  in 
management,  and  of  great  tact  in  driving  a  bargain,  it  is  probable 
that  few  persons  could  have  done  the  business  to  better  advantage 
for  the  Amoskeag  Manufacturing  Company  than  he.  Many  anec- 
dotes are  told  of  his  negotiating  for  the  lands,  that  show  his 
shrewdness  in  bargaining,  if  they  do  not  add  to  his  reputation  as  a 
man.  His  operations  as  manufacturer  added  to  his  business  as  a 
merchant,  and  few  houses  in  Boston  did  a  more  extensive  business 
in  domestics  than  that  of  Sayles  &  Merriam,  or  to  greater  advan- 
tage. Mr.  Sayles  died  in  1847,  at  the  age  of  fifty-five,  leaving  a 
large  property,  gained  by  a  life  of  energy  and  enterprise. 

"  William  Amory  was  born  April  15,  1804,  in  Boston.  His 
father,  Thomas  C.  Amory,  Esq.,  an  eminent  merchant  of  that  city, 
died  in  1812,  much  lamented.  William,  his  son,  entered  Harvard 
University,  in  1819,  at  the  early  age  of  fifteen  years,  and  left  at 
the  end  of  three  years  to  finish  his  education  in  Europe.  He  was  a 
student  at  the  University  at  Gottingen,  in  Germany,  for  a  year  and 
a  half,  and  at  the  University  of  Berlin,  for  nine  months,  pursuing 
the  study  of  the  civil  law  and  of  general  literature.  He  thea 
spent  some  two  years  and  a  half  in  travel,  returning  to  Boston^ 


200  THE  MEERIMACK  EIVEE; 

30th,  1828,  after  an  absence  of  five  years.  In  1831,  he  entered 
the  bar  of  Suffolk  County,  without,  however,  any  intention  of 
practising  the  profession  of  the  law.  The  same  year  he  was  chosen 
treasurer  of  the  Jackson  Manufacturing  Company  at  Nashua,  and  en- 
tered upon  the  business  of  a  manufacturer.  Young  and  inexperienced 
in  the  business,  yet  he  brought  to  the  performance  of  his  duties  a 
mind  matured  by  his  study,  and  a  knowledge  of  men  and  things, 
together  with  an  energy  and  enterprise  not  often  found  in  young  men 
nurtured  in  ease  and  affluence.  With  such  qualifications  he  was 
destined  to  succeed^  and  the  Jackson  Mills,  for  the  eleven  years  they 
were  under  the  control  of  Mr.  Amory,  were  eminently  successful, 
and  did  not  fail  to  make  certain  and  large  dividends.  In  January, 
1833,  he  married  Miss  Anna  P.  Sears,  daughter  of  David  Sears,  Esq., 
an  eminent  merchant  of  Boston.  In  1 837,  when  the  Amoskeag  Manu- 
facturing Company  had  decided  upon  building  up  the  manufacturing 
city  of  Manchester,  they  looked  about  for  an  efficient  man  to  take  the 
responsible  office  of  treasurer,  and  of  course  general  manager  of  the 
affairs  of  the  company.  Mr.  Amory '  s  success  in  the  management  of  the 
affairs  of  the  Jackson  Company  very  naturally  directed  their  attention 
to  him,  and,  fortunately  for  them  and  our  city,  he  was  elected  to  that 
office,  and  accepted  it.  He  entered  upon  his  duties  at  once,  and  for 
nineteen  years  has  been  the  controlling  and  directing  spirit  that  has 
fashioned  the  destinies  of  our  city.  Of  just  and  enlarged  views,  he 
has  suffered  no  niggardly  policy  to  mingle  itself  with  the  management 
of  the  affairs  of  the  company.  And  the  directors  have  had  the  good 
judgment  to  le;ive  his  action  unrestricted.  And  to-day  our  citizens 
who  take  pride  in  our  public  library,  in  our  beautiful  cemetery,  in 
our  spacious  streets,  in  our  numerous  and  splendid  public  squares,  so 
justly  considered  as  ornaments  and  sources  of  health  to  our  city,  may 
attribute  them  in  a  great  measure  to  the  enlightened  policy  of  Wil- 
liam Amory,  Esq. ;  while  the  corporation,  whose  business  affairs  he  con- 
trols, cannot  but  appreciate  a  policy  that  is  fast  building  up  a  manufac- 
turing city,  unsurpassed  in  beauty,  at  the  same  time  that  it  is  creating 
a  stock  that  in  dividends  and  surplus  is  the  most  desirable  in  the 
market.  Mr.  Amory  is  a  stockholder  and  director  in  most  of  the 
other  corporations  of  the  city,  and  has  had  much  to  do  with  their 
success.  In  fact,  few  men  of  his  age  can  look  back  upon  such  a 
jecord  of  success  in  manufacturing  as  the  treasurer  of  the  Amoskeag 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS   TRIBUTARIES.  201 

Manufacturing  Company.  At  the  same  time  that  he  has  been  so 
successful  in  his  manufacturing  operations,  his  urbane  manner  and 
quiet  and  unostentatious  courtesy  have  not  failed  to  secure  to  him  the 
respect  and  regard  of  a  host  of  friends  in  the  cities  where  his  arduous 
duties  have  been  performed. 

"Col.  Robert  Read  was  born  at  Amherst,  in  October,  1786.  His 
grandfather,  Robert  Read,  moved  to  Amherst  from  Litchfield  at  an 
early  date.  His  father,  William  Read,  was  a  well-known  and  in- 
fluential citizen  of  Amherst.  Robert  was  apprenticed  as  clerk,  with 
Messrs.  Haller  and  Read,  merchants  of  Chelmsford.  He  afterwards 
went  into  trade  with  his  father,  at  Amherst,  under  the  well-known 
firm  of  William  Read  &  Son.  Subsequently,  he  formed  a  connec- 
tion in  business  with  Isaac  Spaulding,  Esq.,  which  continued  until 
a  dissolution  precedent  to  the  commencement  of  manufacturing  in 
Nashua,  where  Mr.  Spaulding  removed  and  went  into  business. 
Few  firms  were  more  enterprising,  or  better  known  in  our  State,  than 
that  of  Read  and  Spaulding,  of  Amherst,  and  very  few  were  more 
successful.  Mr.  Read,  active  and  enterprising,  soon  became  a  lead- 
ing man  in  the  town.  He  was  elected  town-clerk  in  1815,  and 
was  re-elected  to  the  same  office  the  twelve  following  years.  He 
was  also  representative  of  the  town  for  three  years  ;  namely,  in  1826, 
1827,  1828.  Prior  to  this  time  he  had  been  in  command  of  the 
West  Company  of  Infantry,  in  Amherst,  one  of  the  most  efficient 
companies  in  the  State,  he  having  served  in  all  the  intermediate 
grades  from  private  to  commander.  In  1828,  Capt.  Read  was  ap- 
pointed aide-de-camp,  by  Governor  John  Bell,  with  the  rank  of 
colonel.  In  1835,  Col.  Read  moved  to  Nashua.  In  1837,  he  was 
appointed  agent  of  the  Amoskeag  Manufacturing  Company,  and 
entered  immediately  upon  his  duties,  succeeding  Mr.  Hartshorn  in 
that  office.  He  continued  to  perform  the  arduous  and  responsible 
duties  of  his  office  for  fourteen  years,  until  January  1st,  1852,  when 
he  resigned  and  removed  to  Nashua,  where  he  has  since  resided. 
During  the  period  of  his  agency,  and  under  his  general  supervision, 
a  la^ge  portion  of  the  operations  of  the  Amoskeag  Manufacturing 
Company,  in  the  way  of  buildings  and  real  estate  generally,  were 
completed.  He  performed  his  duties  faithfully  to  the  company  by 
which  he  was  employed,  as  every  one  will  testify  who  had  business 
to  transact  with  him.  Strictly  a  business  man,  he  mingled  very 
26 


202  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

little  with  other  than  business  men,  and  hence  was  very  little  iden- 
tified with  interests  disconnected  with  the  corporations ;  yet  no 
measure  connected  with  the  progress  of  our  city  escaped  his  atten- 
tion, and  he  most  heartily  coincided  in  all  that  liberal  course  of 
policy,  on  the  part  of  the  treasurer  and  directors,  that  has  added  so 
much  of  beauty  and  value  to  our  city.  Col.  Read  took  very  little 
part  in  the  politics  of  the  day  after  he  came  to  Manchester  ;  still,  in 
1851,  he  was  a  member  of  the  convention  for  the  revision  of  the 
Constitution.  His  first  wife  was  Miss  Rebecca  French,  daughter 
of  Frederic  French,  Esq.,  of  Amherst.  He  married  for  his  second 
wife,  Miss  Jane  Leland,  of  Saco,  Me.  His  intercourse  with  his 
fellow-citizens  was  marked  with  that  courtesy  of  manner  that  ever 
commands  respect.  Since  his  .residence  in  Nashua,  probably  from 
want  of  his  usual  active  exercise,  his  general  health  has  become 
somewhat  impaired,  yet  he  still  lives  to  take  an  interest  in  all  the 
stirring  events  of  our  growing  city." 

From  the  earliest  ages  the  founders  of  cities  have  been  regarded 
as  public  benefactors,  and  have  received  the  distinguished  considera- 
tion to  which  they  have  been  justly  entitled  from  their  fellow-citi- 
zens and  posterity.  Thus  Pater  the  Great  derives  a  due  share  of 
his  just  historic  renown  from  this  circumstance,  while  the  Emperor 
Constantine  has  at  least  perpetuated  his  memory,  and  tall  minarets 
plainly  denote  to  all  men  the  precise  locality  of  the  city  which  bears 
his  name.  If,  then,  it  is  eminently  proper  to  bestow  credit  on  such 
as  have,  to  gratify,  perhaps,  a  questionable  ambition,  merely  by  the 
force  of  kingly  prerogative  established  a  site,  how  much  greater  is 
the  title  to  distinction  and  enduring  gratitude  of  those  who  have  laid 
the  foundation,  broad  and  deep,  of  a  city  like  Manchester,  and  at  the 
same  time,  by  their  sagacity,  genius,  and  skill,  created  and  estab- 
lished an  interest  which  should  not  only  attract  its  population,  but 
also  provide  them  amply  with  such  various  labor  and  business  as 
would  ensure  each  and  all  a  generous  support !  The  founders  of 
Manchester,  who  have  been  previously  mentioned,  were  able  men  in 
the  broadest  sense  of  the  term,  as  the  great  manufactories  which  they 
devised  and  put  in  operation,  and  the  fine  city  they  originated, 
which,  though  planted  in  a  desert  waste,  was  nurtured  by  their 
genius  to  its  present  fair  proportions,  amply  testify.  But  though 
the  city  is  an  offspring  of  their  genius  and  wonderful  forecast,  though 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  203 

the  result  already  reached  was  plainly  foreshadowed,  and  it  required 
no  prophetic  vision  to  discern  in  the  character  of  these  men  and  their 
comprehensive  plan  the  certainty  of  ultimate  arid  complete  success ; 
still,  to  accomplish  this  purpose,  to  reach  this  consummation,  the 
services  of  efficient  and  skilful  coadjutors  were  required  to  superin- 
tend and  carry  into  practice  the  important  details  of  this  vast  and 
complicated  scheme.  Without  such  co-operation  they  foresaw  inevita- 
ble failure,  and  at  once  cast  about  to  secure  the  highest  order  of 
talent,  the  most  eminent  engineers,  artisans,  and  mechanics,  men 
of  intelligence  and  character  as  executive  officers  of  the  various 
branches  of  this  great  enterprise.  The  city  of  Manchester  being 
a  recently  collected  community,  in  other  words,  being  emphatically 
a  new  settlement  as  well  as  a  new  city,  exhibits  unmistakably  the 
well-known  characteristics  of  such  a  condition  of  things,  as  well  as 
other  features  remarkable  and  unusual  in  a  young  arid  heterogeneous 
community.  Depending  as  she  has  entirely  on  her  manufacturing 
interests  for  prosperity  and  growth ;  destitute  of  any  and  all  of  those 
long-established  interests  or  enterprises  which  move  the  slow  prog- 
ress of  older  places,  her  people  having  been  brought  there,  rather 
than  born  there,  it  would  be  only  natural  to  presume  that  the  city  in 
the  aggregate  and  in  detail ;  in  its  manufactures  and  its  great  edi- 
fices for  that  purpose ;  in  its  numerous  mills  and  shops,  where  every 
variety  of  mechanical  works  are  carried  on;  in  the  location,  style,  and 
expense  of  churches  and  school-houses ;  in  the  arrangement,  number, 
and  size  of  buildings  for  business  purposes  ;  in  the  architecture,  con- 
venience, and  adornment  of  its  dwellings,  its  broad  and  regular 
streets,  numerous  public  squares,  and  all  other  matters  tending  to 
convenience,  taste,  skill,  means,  and  enterprise  of  a  people  attracted 
here  by  their  inclinations,  interest,  or  some  other  cause,  and  who  had 
each  for  himself  marked  out  his  home  and  surroundings.  Observa- 
tion and  the  reflection  of  thoughtful  men  will,  of  course,  suggest  the 
utter  impossibility  of  so  much  method,  regularity,  order,  conven- 
ience, comfort,  and  beauty,  as  the  result  of  such  anomalous  collec- 
tion, diversity  and  incongruity  of  taste,  and  will  naturally  cast 
about  for  the  invisible  cause  of  all  this  wonderful  system.  The 
skilful  and  careful  perfection  of  the  original  city  plan  ;  the  wise  loca- 
tion of  the  many  public  squares  which  beautify  and  adorn  every 
section  of  the  city  ;  the  wisdom  which  has  divided  up  and  distributed 


204  THE  MEEEIMACK  EIVEE; 

fifty  acres  of  common  in  proper  quantities  through  the  city,  instead 
of  locating  the  whole  in  one  body  in  some  inconvenient  corner ;  the 
care,  attention,  and  cost  which  have  been  devoted  to  the  planting  of 
ornamental  shade- trees,  adorning  and  beautifying  the  streets  and 
squares,  —  one  of  the  most  agreeable  and  comfortable  features  of  the 
town,  to  its  people,  as  it  is  one  of  the  most  attractive  to  strangers ; 
the  proper  equality  in  size  of  building  sites  ;  the  remarkable  absence 
of  the  alternation  of  stores  and  dwellings  seen  in  many  cities1 ;  the 
respectful  and  convenient  distance  maintained  between  the  building 
front  and  the  street  line,  —  these  and  many  other  noticeable  features 
are  certainly  not  an  exhibition  of  uniformity  of  taste  and  means,  nor 
are  they,  either,  the  result  of  accident.  Industry,  study,  skill, 
science,  genius,  in  competent  hands  and  under  intelligent  direction, 
has  devised  and  accomplished  all  this.  In  the  year  1838,  Mr.  E. 
A.  Straw,  then  a  youth  of  eighteen,  having  just  left  school  and  en- 
gaged as  civil  engineer  in  the  construction  of  the  Nashua  and  Lowell 
Railroad,  was  sent  by  Mr.  Boyden,  consulting  engineer  of  the 
Amoskeag  Company,  to  supply  the  place  of  Mr.  T.  J.  Carter,  the 
regular  engineer  of  that  company,  who  was  sick,  and  whose  services 
were  needed  at  that  time.  Mr.  Straw  arrived  on  the  4th  of  July 
of  the  year  named,  and  immediately  entered  upon  the  active  duties 
of  the  position,  expecting  to  remain  but  a  week  or  so.  His  engage- 
ment consequently  antedates  the  erection  of  mills,  and,  indeed,  the 
commencement  of  all  improvements,  beyond  the  initiatory  steps,  in 
the  city  of  Manchester,  and  he  may  be  said  not  only  to  be  contem- 
poraneous with,  but  the  agent  of,  all  these  improvements.  When 
Mr.  Straw  came  to  Manchester  there  was  but  one  principal  thorough- 
fare, running  diagonally  from  north-west  to  south-east,  from  Amos- 
keag village  across  the  old  bridge  and  the  plain  to  the  centre  of  the 
town.  Along  this  road  there  were  some  half-a-dozen  houses,  among 
them  the  Kidder  house  near  the  river ;  another  on  the  site  of  the 
residence  of  William  G.  Perry,  Esq. ;  one  between  these  two  near  the 
track  of  the  Concord  Railroad ;  and  a  few  others.  The  dwelling  on 
what  was  then  known  as  the  "Young  Farm,"  now  known  as  the 
"pest-house,"  having  been  built  in  1834,  appeared,  externally, 
much  the  same  as  now.  Among  the  first  duties  devolving  on  Mr. 
Straw  in  the  line  of  his  profession  was  to  lay  out,  according  to  the 
plan,  for  reclamation  and  putting  into  market,  the  lands  of  the  com- 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  205 

pany  necessary  to  accommodate  the  anticipated  rapid  increase  of  pop- 
ulation as  fast  as  it  should  be  required  for  this  purpose.  Accord- 
ingly it  was  decided  to  define  the  north  line  of  Lowell,  the  east  line 
of  Union,  and  the  south  line  of  Hanover  Streets,  and  that  the 
territory  thus  bounded  should  at  once  be  brought  into  market.  It 
may  seem  a  little  singular  that  this  street  of  elegant  public  and 
private  buildings  was,  only  thirty  years  ago,  a  dense  wilderness ; 
that  the  Lowell  Street  of  to-day  —  perhaps  the  finest  in  the  city  — 
required,  in  its  opening  to  Union,  nearly  a  week,  and  an  immense 
amount  of  labor  in  cutting  and  removing  the  forest.  The  land  thus 
bounded  was  then  cleared,  burned  over,  laid  out,  and  sold  at  auction, 
October  24,  1838.  Every  lot  was  sold  ;  and  it  may  be  interesting 
to  those  who  have  subsequently  bought  land  of  the  company,  and 
made  themselves  a  home  in  Manchester,  to  know  some  of  the  prices 
then  obtained.  The  lot  on  the  north-west  corner  of  Elm  and  Han- 
over Streets  brought  fifteen  cents  and  a  half  per  foot ;  corresponding 
corner,  Elm  and  Amherst,  twenty -six  and  a  half;  Elm  and  Lowell, 
eighteen  and  a  half;  Chestnut  and  Amherst,  nine  cents.  The  next 
sale,  October  1839,  the  lot  at  the  south-west  corner  of  Elm  and  Han- 
over sold  for  forty-two  and  a  half  cents  per  foot.  The  lot  at  the  north- 
west corner  of  Elm  and  Amherst  was  sold  the  present  year  (1868), 
at  four  dollars  per  foot. 

In  three  months  thereafter  (  January,  1839  )  the  first  dwelling-house 
was  erected,  it  being  the  same  now  standing  at  the  north-west  corner 
of  Chestnut  and  Concord  Streets.  Having  completed  some  of  the  mills, 
together  with  boarding-houses  for  the  accommodation  of  the  oper- 
atives, while  at  the  same  time  the  building  of  dwellings  and  stores 
in  the  public  streets  was  rapidly  progressing,  and  the  manufacture  of 
cotton  on  an  extensive  scale  was  proving  a  decided  success,  the  com- 
pany turned  their  attention  to  the  production  of  delaines,  a 
business  hitherto  unknown  in  this  country.  For  this  purpose  they 
commenced  operations  in  the  mill  at  Hooksett,  where  the  new  fabric 
was  made ;  and  so  far  the  experiment  was  a  success ;  but  the  imperfect 
knowledge  of  the  art  of  printing  and  the  totally  inadequate  machin- 
ery for  the  purpose  effectually  hampered  their  progress.  The  best 
method  of  printing  worsted  goods  practised  or  known  at  that  time 
was  the  old  system  of  block  printing,  and  as  this  was  imperfect  and 
slow,  the  goods  were  sold  as  they  came  from  the  loom  to  an  enter- 


206  THE  MEERIMACK  EIVEE; 

prising  firm  in  Taunton,  Mass.,  who  it  was  believed  realized  a 
handsome  profit  by  printing  them  for  market  on  their  own  account. 
The  partial  success  of  the  company,  however,  in  this  experiment  very 
naturally  encouraged  a  favorable  view  of  this  business,  and  deter- 
mined them  to  commence  operations  as  soon  as  p9ssible  on  a  large 
scale,  and  the  Print  Works  corporation  was  established.  It  now 
became  necessary  to  obtain  a  more  extensive  and  practical  knowledge 
of  the  art  of  printing  from  Europe,  and  in  canvassing  for  a  suitable 
person  to  fill  this  mission  Mr.  Straw  was  selected  as  a  discreet,  in- 
telligent, and  fit  agent,  and,  in  1844,  visited  the  great  manufactories 
abroad,  where,  under  various  pretexts  and  guises,  he  found  entrance 
to  many  of  the  close  establishments  which  so  jealously  guarded  this 
then  youthful  and  most  important  art.  Having  gathered  much  useful 
and  serviceable  knowledge,  and  engaged  some  experienced  and  skilful 
workmen,  Mr.  Straw  returned  the  following  year.  Meantime  the 
parties  interested,  being  substantially  the  stockholders  of  the  works 
already  in  operation  at  Manchester,  had  completed  the  Print  Works, 
and  put  No.  1  mill  in  operation,  and  the  company  is  still  heavily  en- 
gaged in  the  production  of  this  kind  of  goods,  of  a  style,  quality,  and 
finish  unsurpassed  by  the  imported  fabrics  of  older  and  more  ex- 
perienced foreign  manufacturers.  Diligent,  faithful,  and  capable  in 
the  line  of  his  duties,  Mr.  Straw  grew  in  the  favor  of  his  employers 
as  well  as  in  the  respect  of  his  fellow-citizens,  and,  in  1852,  he  was 
selected  for  the  important  position  of  agent  of  the  Land  and  Water 
Power  Company.  Prior  and  for  some  years  subsequent  to  this  time 
the  Amoskeag  Company  was  divided  into  three  separate  depart- 
ments,—  the  Land  and  Water  Power,  the  Machine  Shops,  and  the 
Mills,  —  each  under  the  exclusive  management  and  control  of  its  own 
agent ;  .but  experience,  if  not  wisdom,  seeins  to  have  demonstrated 
that  the  triumvirate  system  was  not,  and  for  obvious  reasons  could 
not  be,  particularly  advantageous  to  the  proprietors,  and  as  Mr.  Straw 
had  discovered  superior  executive  abilities  in  his  position,  it  was 
gradually  abandoned,  and  the  onerous  and  responsible  duties  of  each 
were  in  turn  assumed  by  him.  Of  the  able  and  satisfactory  manner 
in  which  he  has  discharged  the  duties  of  his  position  for  many  years 
it  is  not  necessary  to  speak  more  particularly ;  but  it  may  be  inferred 
from  the  material  marks  of  approbation  bestowed  on  him,  and  the 
high  esteem  entertained  for  him  as  a  manager  and  a  man,  by  the 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  207 

company.  While  assiduously  engaged  in  those  duties  which  have 
brought  prosperity  to  the  city  of  his  adoption  and  profit  to  his  em- 
ployers, his  fellow-citizens  have  not  been  unmindful  of  his  course, 
nor  yet  of  his  merits ;  but,  never  in  any  sense  a  politician,  he  has 
steadily  and  persistently  avoided,  when  possible,  the  honors  and 
duties  of  public  life,  and  is  an  example  —  rare  in  these  days  —  of  the 
office  seeking  the  man.  Still,  Hon.  E.  A.  Straw  has  not  been  wholly 
-able  to  escape  serving  his  fellow-citizens,  he  having  been  a  member 
of  the  Legislature  seven  or  eight  years,  and  once  president  of  the 
Senate.  Few  men  have  by  their  own  exertions  met  with  equal  suc- 
cess, or  exhibit  a  fairer  record,  and  it  is  gratifying  to  know  that  his 
individual  prosperity  approximates  that  of  the  great  corporation  he 
manages,  and  the  city  in  which  he  resides.  The  managers  of  the 
Amoskeag  Company  have  been  men  of  liberal  minds  and  compre- 
hensive views,  and  it  has  been  the  good  fortune  of  Mr.  Straw  to  pos- 
sess their  entire  confidence ;  consequently  the  suggestions  he  has  made 
to  them  concerning  improvements,  generally  including  the  present  or 
prospective  welfare  of  the  city,  have  been  heartily  endorsed  by  them 
without  hesitation,  and  thus  his  great  regard  for  her  is  plainly  traced 
on  every  rood  of  her  territory  and  every  section  of  Manchester. 
Mr.  Straw,  as  agent  of  a  company  which  contributes  more  than  a 
modicum  of  the  city  tax,  has  exercised  a  controlling  influence,  always 
judicious  and  healthy,  over  public  improvements,  inciting  and  spur- 
ring up,  if  necessary,  any  laxity  of  negligent  officials,  generally  by 
offers  of  valuable  co-operation  ;  and  recently,  through  the  paternal  and 
munificent  liberality  of  the  company,  he  has  been  the  agent  for  pre- 
senting the  city  with  a  valuable  and  eligible  site  for  a  public  library, 
and  has  reason  to  hope  to  receive  contributions  sufficient  to  defray  one 
half  the  estimated  cost  of  erecting  a  suitable  building  for  such  an 
institution.  As  an  evidence  of  the  high  estimation  in  which  he  is 
held  as  a  practical  manufacturer,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  there  is  an 
association  composed  of  the  agents  and  treasurers  of  all  the  principal 
establishments  in  the  New  England  States,  of  which  Hon.  E.  A. 
Straw  is  president.  By  reference  to  a  publication  bearing  date  of 
January  15th,  1868,  containing  the  transactions  of  this  association, 
it  will  be  seen  that  it  is  called  the  "N.  E.  Cotton  Manufacturers' 
Association;"  President,  Hon.  E.  A.  Straw,  Manchester,  N.  H. ; 
Vice-Presidenta,  A.  D.  Lockwood,  Lewiston,  Me.,  Wm  A.  Burke, 


208  THE  MERRIMACK  EIVEE; 

Lowell,  Mass. ;  Directors,  J.  S.  Davis,  Holyoke,  Mass.,  Charles 
Nourse,  Woonsocket,  R.  I.,  Phinehas  Adams,  Manchester,  N.  H., 
William  P.  Haines,  Biddeford,  Me.,  Thomas  J.  Borden,  Fall  River, 
Mass.,  A.  M.  Wade,  Lawrence,  Mass. ;  Auditor,  Benjamin  Saun- 
ders,  Nashua,  N.  H. ;  Secretary  and  Treasurer,  Ambrose  Eastman, 
Boston,  Mass.  This  Association  numbers  upwards  of  one  hundred 
gentlemen,  representatives  of  all  the  leading  manufactories  in  New 
England,  its  objects  being  the  interchange  of  views  and  opinions  by 
the  presentation  of  papers,  by  interrogatories,  colloquial  debate, 
publications,  and  otherwise,  for  mutual  improvement.  In  the 
pamphlet  referred  to,  containing  the  proceedings  of  the  third  annual 
meeting,  holden  at  Boston  in  January,  1868,  is  published  a  very  in- 
teresting paper  read  at  that  meeting  by  Mr.  Straw,  on  "  The  principles 
which  should  govern  the  use  of  drawing  as  a  process  in  the  manu- 
facture of  cotton  yarns."  It  will  be  noticed  that  in  the  selection  of 
the  officers  of  this  association  the  great  corporations  upon  the  Mer- 
rimack  are  very  liberally  represented,  and  no  higher  testimonial,  it 
would  seem,  to  the  distinguished  ability  of  an  individual,  as  a  man- 
ufacturer, could  be  desired  than  that  bestowed  on  Mr.  Straw  by  this 
association  of  the  most  skilful,  experienced,  and  practical  man- 
ufacturers ;  and  certainly,  if  it  is  proper  for  any  man  to  entertain  a 
just  pride  in  the  appreciation  of  his  merits  by  competent  judges,  and 
feel  a  gratification  which  perhaps  no  other  circumstance  could 
produce,  that  man  is  Mr.  Straw. 

In  1794,  Samuel  Blodget,  Esq.,  who  had  conceived  the  idea,  com- 
menced operations  on  the  Amoskeag  Canal,  about  a  mile  in  length 
around  the  falls,  to  facilitate  the  navigation  of  the  river.  This 
canal  was  a  stupendous  undertaking  for  that  early  period ;  indeed, 
it  was  one  of  the  earliest  internal  improvements  of  magnitude  in  the 
country,  and  was  completed  in  1807,  at  a  cost  of  about  one  hundred 
and  twenty  five  thousand  dollars.  Its  projector  died  the  same  year, 
aged  eighty-three. 

The  remains  of  Samuel  Blodget  are  interred  in  the  beautiful 
"  Valley  Cemetery  "  at  Manchester,  the  lot  being  surrounded  by  a 
group  of  fine  perennials,  affording  a  grateful  shade,  and  the  inscrip- 
tion on  his  monument  is  as  follows  :  — 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  209 

To  The  Memory  of  The 

HON.  SAMUEL  BLODGET, 

Born  at  Woburu,  Mass. 

April  1,  1724, 

Died  at  Manchester 

(Then  Derryfield), 

Sept.  1, 1807. 
The  pioneer  of  In- 
ternal improvements 
in  New  Hampshire. 

The  projector 

and  builder  of  the 

Amoskeag  Canal. 

Erected  by 

His  great-grandson, 

JOSEPH  HENKY  STICKNET, 

of  Baltimore,  Md. 

1868. 

Mr.  Stickney  —  grandfather  of  the  above-named  gentleman  — 
was  mainly  instrumental  in  procuring  the  change  in  the  name  of  the 
town  from  Derryfield  to  Manchester. 

The  canal  served  a  useful  purpose  for  many  years,  but  went  to 
ruin  and  decay  after  railroad  facilities  were  introduced  along  the 
Merrimack. 

The  old  bridge  across  the  Merrimack,  at  the  foot  of  Bridge  Street, 
called  from  its  builder  "the  McGregor  Bridge,"  was  said  to  have 
been  the  first  bridge  ever  built  across  the  Merrimack  in  New  Hamp- 
shire. It  is  related  that  when  McGregor  mentioned  to  General 
Stark  his  plan  of  building  a  bridge,  the  general  remarked  that  he 
should  have  lived  long  enough,  when  a  bridge  across  the  Merrimack 
River  should  be  completed ;  and  a  gentleman  who  had  crossed  the 
bridge,  in  1810,  related  that  he  took  the  toll-gatherer  along  as  a  hos- 
tage for  his  safety,  and  paid  his  toll  after  it  was  insured,  at  the  op- 
posite end.  The  bridge,  or  rather  the  ruins  were  washed  away  by  a 
great  freshet  in  the  winter  of  1850. 

Some  distance  below  the  site  of  the  bridge  there  is  a  large  rock 
in  the  river  exposed,  except  in  times  of  high  water.  This  rock  is 
known  as  "  Old  McNiel  "  and  received  the  name  from  John  McNiel, 
who  broke  through  the  ice  near  it,  and  with  remarkable  presence  of 
mind  and  being  a  good  swimmer,  struck  out  for  the  shore,  and  hav- 
ing reached  a  place  where  he  could  touch  bottom  with  his  feet,  and 
27 


210  THE  MEERIMACK  RIVEK; 

placing  his  broad  shoulders  against  the  ice,  with  almost  superhuman 
power  broke  through,  and  thus  saved  himself  from  death  by  his  cool- 
ness, presence  of  mind,  and  gigantic  strength. 

Having  decided  to  commence  active  operations  at  Amoskeag  Falls, 
and  having  bought  out  the  proprietors  of  the  Garvin:s  Falls  Water- 
Power  Company  at  Concord,  the  Amoskeag  Land  and  Water  Power 
Company  in  1836  commenced  operations  by  constructing  a  substan- 
tial dam  at  the  falls  with  massive  guard  locks  on  the  east  side  of 
the  river.  From  these  locks  a  canal  was  dug  seventy-five  feet  wide, 
and  narrowing  down  to  forty-five  feet,  and  ten  feet  deep.  This 
canal  is  five  thousand  feet  long,  and  terminates  a  few  rods  north  of 
the  passenger  station,  on  the  Concord  Railroad.  This  is  called  the 
upper  canal ;  the  lower  canal  extends  from  a  point  near  the  Stark 
Mills  to  the  weir  below  Granite  Street. 

In  1845,  the  upper  canal  was  extended  to  its  present  terminus,  a 
distance  of  five  thousand  feet  from  the  basin.  At  the  same  time  the 
lower  canal  was  extended  south  to  the  weirs  below  Granite  Street, 
and  north  over  the  track  of  the  Blodget  Canal  to  the  Basin,  its 
whole  length  being  seven  thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet. 

As  the  company  had,  in  purchasing  the  Amoskeag  Canal  interest, 
guaranteed  to  keep  it  open  around  the  falls,  locks  were  constructed 
near  the  site  of  the  McGregor  Bridge,  and  thus  communication  was 
still  kept  open  between  the  canal  and  the  river.  The  fall,  from  the 
upper  to  the  lower  canal  is  twenty  feet,  and  from  the  lower  canal  to 
the  river,  thirty-four  feet. 

The  Amoskeag  Manufacturing  Company  was  chartered  in  1831, 
with  a  capital  of  one  million  six  hundred  thousand  dollars ;  the  old 
company,  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  being  the  nucleus  of  the 
new  company.  The  capital  of  this  company  has  been  increased  to 
three  million  dollars.  Hon.  E.  A.  Straw  is  the  agent. 

The  Stark  Mills  were  incorporated  in  1838;  the  capital  of  this 
company  is  one  million  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars,  and 
Phineas  Adams,  Esq.,  is  the  agent. 

The  Manchester  Mills  company  was  incorporated  1839,  with  a 
capital  of  one  million  dollars.  The  stock  was  afterwards  increased 
to  one  million  five  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  its  name  changed 
to  the  "Merrimack  Mills."  In  1851,  the  name  of  the  corporation 
was  changed  to  the  "  Manchester  Printworks,"  and  the  following 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TEIBUTARIES.  211 

year  the  capital  was  increased  to  one  million  eight  hundred  thousand 
dollars.  Waterman  Smith,  Esq.,  is  the  agent. 

The  Blodget  Edge  Tool  Company,  with  a  capital  of  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars,  was  incorporated  in  1853. 

The  Manchester  Locomotive  Works  were  incorporated  1854. 
Capital,  three  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

The  Seamless  Bag  Mill  has  a  capital  of  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars.  The  Langdon  Mills,  five  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

There  are  five  or  six  very  extensive  Hosiery  Manufactories,  and 
an  immense  number  of  shops  and  mills  for  almost  every  conceivable 
mechanical  purpose. 

More  than  half  a  century  since,  the  people  of  this  town  began  to 
realize  the  immense  hydraulic  power  capable  of  being  applied  to 
machinery  by  means  of  the  Amoskeag  Falls.  Many  believed  the 
town  would  some  time  rival  the  great  cotton  city  in  Lancashire  in 
manufacturing  importance,  and  effected  a  change  of  its  name,  from 
Derryfield  to  Manchester,  by  legislative  enactment,  in  1810.  In 
June,  1845,  an  act  was  passed  by  the  Legislature,  incorporating  the 
city  of  Manchester,  and  on  the  first  day  of  August  following,  a  vote 
of  the  town  was  taken  on  the  question  of  acceptance  of  the  charter. 
The  vote  stood  four  hundred  and  eighty-five  in  the  affirmative,  and 
one  hundred  and  thirty-four  in  the  negative. 

On  the  nineteenth  of  August,  1846,  the  first  election  was  held 
for  officers  under  the  city  charter,  which  resulted  in  no  choice.  A 
month  later,  a  new  trial  was  had,  which  was  successful,  and  the  new 
city  government  was  inaugurated  September  8th,  of  the  same  year. 
The  following-named  gentlemen  have  held  the  office  of  Mayor  of  the 
city  of  Manchester,  since  its  organization. 

1846,  Hiram  Brown ;  1847-48.  Jacob  F.  James ;  1849,  War- 
ren L.  Lane;  1850-51,  Moses  Fellows;  1852-54,  Frederick 
Smyth;  1855-56,  Theodore  T.  Abbot;  1857,  Jacob  F.  James; 
1858,  Alonzo  Smith ;  1859-60,  Edward  W.  Harrington ;  1861- 
62,  David  A.  Bunton ;  1863,  Theodore  T.  Abbot ;  1864,  Frederick 
Smyth ;  1865,  Darwin  J.  Daniels,  who  died  while  in  office,  and 
John  Hosley  was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy  during  the  remainder  of 
the  unexpired  term  of  Mr.  Daniels ; .  1866,  John  Hosley ;  1867, 
Joseph  B.  Clark.  The  Mayor  for  the  current  year  is  James  A. 
Weston,  Esq.,  and  the  Board  of  Aldermen  is  composed  of  the  fol- 


212  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

lowing-named  gentlemen  :  Ward  one,  William  G.  Perry ;  two,  Ezra 
Huntington ;  three,  William  P.  Newell ;  four,  Horace  B.  Putnam ; 
five,  Daniel  Connor ;  six,  Joseph  Rowley ;  seven,  Chancey  Favor ; 
eight,  George  Gerry.  City  Clerk,  Joseph  E.  Bennett,  Esq. ;  Treas- 
urer and  Collector,  Henry  E.  Chamberlain  ;  City  Marshal,  William 
B.  Patten. 

As  Manchester  is  a  new  place,  having  sprung  up,  as  it  were,  in  a 
day,  it  has  neither  colleges,  or  other  richly  endowed,  long-estab- 
lished, and  celebrated  institutions  of  learning  ;  but.  since  the  organ- 
ization of  the  city  government,  it  has  devoted  itself  to  the  interest 
of  education  with  untiring  zeal  and  energy,  and  the  result  is,  that 
Manchester  is  blessed  with  facilities  for  education  inferior  to  those 
of  no  other  town  in  the  State.  The  first  school-house  ever  built 
within  the  present  limits  of  the  city  was  near  Amoskeag  Falls  in 
1T85,  and  nothing  could  exhibit  the  spirit  of  progress  in  a  more 
favorable  light  than  contrasting  its  cabin-like,  seven-by-nine  propor- 
tions, its  inconvenience,  its  total  destitution  of  comfort  and  of  finish, 
with  the  magnificent  edifice  recently  completed  for  High  School 
purposes. 

Another  school-house  was  built  at  what  is  called  the  Centre,  soon 
after  the  one  at  the  falls,  but  this  most  important  interest  of  any 
community  made  little  or  no  progress  until  Manchester  became  a 
city ;  it  is  now,  however,  on  the  flood-tide  of  prosperity  and  suc- 
cess. 

Moody  Currier  is  chairman  of  the  Board  of  Education ;  Joseph 
G.  Edgerly,  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  and  William 
Little,  Esq.,  Clerk. 

The  new  High  School  house  was  completed  in  1867,  at  an 
expense  of  fifty  thousand  dollars,  exclusive  of  the  building  site.; 
beside  this  there  are  about  forty  school-houses  in  this  city,  many  of 
them  fine  buildings.  The  number  of  pupils  the  past  year  was  four 
thousand,  employing  seventy  teachers. 

There  are  eight  wards  in  the  city,  with  one  hotel  and  two  church- 
es for  (not  in)  each  ward.  The  first  church  ever  built  in  Manches- 
ter was  commenced  in  1760,  and  finished,  so  far  as  to  be  fit  for  occu- 
pation, in  thirty  years.  This  was  at  the  Centre ;  but  it  was  not 
vntil  1840  that  any  clergyman  was  settled  in  town,  which  was  over 
the  First  Congregational  Church  at  Amoskeag. 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  213 

No  religious  organization  in  Manchester  exhibits  more  positive 
indications  of  a  ihrifty  and  progressive  condition  than  the  Catholic. 

The  first  church  of  this  society  was  erected  in  1849,.  the  expense 
of  it  being  twenty-five  thousand  dollars ;  but  the  society  increased 
so  rapidly  that  it  was  found  necessary  to  build  another,  which  is  to 
be  completed  the  present  year,  and  will  probably  be  the  largest  and 
most  costly  church  in  the  State. 

There  is  also  a  Convent  of  the  order  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity 
and  Mercy,  and  the  visits  of  these  ministering  angels,  among  the 
poor,  the  destitute,  and  the  suffering,  are  not  few  or  far  between. 
These  benevolent  and  cultivated  ladies,  by  devoting  their  lives,  their 
energies,  and  their  best  efforts  to  the  relief  of  want,  destitution,  and 
suffering,  illustrate  and  exemplify  the  inestimable  worth  and  beauty 
of  practical  Christianity. 

Connected  with  this  is  an  educational  institution  of  a  high  order, 

—  "  Mount  St.  Mary's  Academy,"  —  where  all,  without  distinction 
of  creed,  may  obtain  the  higher  branches  of  English  education,  as 
well  as  in  the  fine  and  ornamental  arts. 

In  addition  to  contributing  their  quota  —  in  the  way  of  taxation 

—  to  the  support  of  common  schools,  the  Catholics  maintain  several 
large  Sabbath  and  secular  schools. 

The  citizens  of  Manchester  are  favored  with  all  the  advantages 
and  benefits  of  a  free  city  library,  which  contains  fifteen  thousand 
volumes.  This  library  was  established  in  1844  by  an  association  of 
gentlemen ;  but  the  necessity  of  a  more  comprehensive  institution 
of  this  kind  being  apparent,  it  was,  in  1854,  transferred  to  the  city 
under  the  following  obligations  :  — 

"The  said  city  shall  annually  appropriate,  and  pay  the  trustees 
of  the  said  city  library,  a  sum  not  less  than  one  thousand  dollars,  to 
be  expended  in  the  purchase  and  binding  of  books  and  periodicals, 
not  being  newspapers  ;  shall,  by  suitable  appropriations,  provide  for 
a  room,  lights,  fuel,  and  other  contingencies  of  the  library,  and  for 
the  salary  of  a  librarian;  "  and  became  the  nucleus  of  the  present 
Public  Library,*  and  under  the  present  arrangement  to  a  much 

*  This  institution  was  fortunate  in  being  surrounded  by  warm  friends  in  its  early  days  ; 
none  more  ardent  and  untiring  than  the  late  Judge  Samuel  D.  Bell.  Many  gentlemen  con- 
tributed valuable  additions  to  it  in  volumes,  and  otherwise;  also,  the  Amoskeag  Company 
manifested  a  lively  interest  in  its  growth  and  efficiency;  but  Judge  Bell,  being  an  antiqua- 
rian and  a  gentleman  of  erudition,  was  indefatigable  in  promoting  its  prosperity,  and  to 


214  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

greater  extent  supplies  the  want  of  a  population  like  that  of  Man- 
chester. This  is  not  the  first  library ;  indeed,  it  will  be  seen  that 
one  was  established  in  this  town  at  an  early  period.  In  the  course 
of  his  remarks  at  the  centennial  celebration,  Albert  Jackson,  Esq., 
said :  — 

"In  1796  a  social  library  society  was  organized,  and  in  1799 
was,  by  special  act  of  the  Legislature,  incorporated." 

There  are  several  periodicals,  monthly  and  weekly  newspapers, 
and  three  dailies  printed  in  Manchester,  all  well  sustained ;  and  thus 
it  would  seem  that  this  city  has  provided  the  means  for  moral  and 
intellectual  culture,  united  with  enterprise  and  industry,  not  sur- 
passed by  any  similar  community,  and  is  believed  to  be  one  of  the 
fruitful  causes  of  her  numbering,  at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  a  popula- 
tion of  scarcely  less  than  thirty  thousand  souls. 

Manchester  is  generously  provided  with  public  grounds,  there 
being  six  separate  commons,  or  squares  as  they  are  called,  on  the 
east  side  of  Elm  Street.  These  are  known  by  the  names  of  the 
"  Park,"  "  Merrimack,"  "  Hanover,"  "  Concord,"  "  Tremont,"  and 
"  Reservoir  Squares ;  "  the  latter  containing  the  companies'  reservoir, 
which  is  located  a  little  more  than  two  hundred  feet  above  the  river. 
It  is  four  hundred  and  eighty  feet  long,  two  hundred  and  thirty-four 
feet  wide,  and  eighteen  feet  deep,  its  capacity  being  eleven  million 
gallons.  It  is  supplied  by  water  forced  up  from  the  river,  and 
hydrants  are  conveniently  arranged  for  using  it  in  case  of  fire  at  the 
mills  and  boarding-houses.  The  reservoir  is  terraced,  and  furnishes 
a  fine  promenade,  and  the  square,  like  all  the  others,  is  tastefully 
adorned  with  shade  trees.  These  squares  contain  six  or  eight  acres 
each,  and  were  the  munificent  gift  of  the  Amoskeag  Manufacturing 
Company  to  the  city. 

A  fine  brook  comes  down  from  Oak  Hill  and  crosses  the  city 
diagonally,  passing  through  several  of  these  squares,  which  are 
thereby  provided  with  beautiful  ponds. 

There  are  several  other  smaller  squares  on  the  west  side  of  Elm 
Street,  which  are  yet  the  property  of  the  company  • 

Manchester  has  some  ten  or  twelve  cemeteries  and  burying- 
grounds.  The  "Valley  Cemetery"  containing  twenty  acres,  a  gift 

him,  more  than  to  any  other  man,  belongs  the  credit  of  providing  a  library  which  is  now 
gstablished  on  a  basis  that  insures  its  being,  in  a  few  years,  one  of  the  finest  in  the  State. 


ITS  SOUECE  AND  ITS  TBIBUTABIES.  215 

of  the  Amoskeag  Company,  is  unsurpassed  for  its  romantic  beauty. 
The  "  Pine  Grove  Cemetery  "  is  well  adapted  for  a  silent  city  of  the 
dead.  The  Catholic  Cemetery  is  on  the  west  side  of  the  river. 
Among  the  oldest  inscriptions  on  any  of  the  tombstones  are  the 
following :  — 

"  Here  lyes  the  body  of 
Mrs.  Janet  Eiddel,  wife  to 
Mr.  Samuel  Riddel.    She  Died  Septr.  18, 
1746.    Aged  50  years." 

Another  reads  thus :  — 

"  Here  Lyes  The  Body  of  Mrs. 

Chresten  McNiel.    She 

Died  September  17th,  1752. 

Aged  66  years." 

Here  is  still  another :  — 

"  Here  Lyes  The  Body  of  Mr. 

Archibald  Stark.     He 
Departed  This  Life  June  25th, 

1758.    Aged  61  years." 

The  City  Hall  was  erected  in  1845,  at  a  cost  of  thirty-five  thou- 
sand dollars.  The  State  Reform  School  is  also  in  Manchester ;  the 
building  is  four  stories  high,  convenient  and  roomy,  and  the  lot  on 
which  it  is  built  contains  one  hundred  and  ten  acres. 

Manchester,  like  most  manufacturing  cities,  is  eminently  a  tran- 
sient place ;  but  many  of  the  descendants  of  the  first  settlers  still 
occupy  the  old  estates,  and  are  counted  among  the  most  valuable 
citizens;  but,  beyond  all  question,  Gen.  John  Stark  was  the  most 
renowned  of  all  her  native  citizens.  He  died  in  May,  1822,  at  the 
advanced  age  of  nearly  ninety-four  years,  and  was  buried  in  a  cem- 
etery provided  by  himself  for  that  purpose  on  his  own  farm,  on  a 
commanding  bluff  just  above  Amoskeag  Falls,  whose  rushing,  rum- 
bling cataract,  like  the  roar  of  mighty  battle,  in  which,  from  a  stern 
sense  of  duty,  he  engaged  and  won  unfading  laurels  when  living,  is 
his  perpetual  requiem.  A  plain  granite  shaft,  bearing  the  inscrip- 
tion "  Maj.  Gen.  Stark,"  marks  the  final  resting-place  of  the 
patriot  and  hero. 


216  THE  MEEEIMACK  RIVEK; 

Wednesday,  the  22d  day  of  October,  1851,  the  citizens  of  Man- 
chester celebrated  the  centennial  anniversary  of  the  incorporation  of 
Derryfield.  An  address  was  delivered  by  the  Rev.  C.  W.  Wallace, 
an  original  poem  by  William  Stark,  Esq.,  — a  genuine  descendant 
of  the  "  old  stock,"  —  and  several  brief,  pertinent  addresses  were 
made  by  native  and  adopted  citizens  of  Manchester.  At  the  same 
time  Hon.  Chandler  E.  Potter  was  selected  to  prepare  a  history  of 
the  town,  which  duty  he  has  performed  in  a  most  able,  thorough, 
and  satisfactory  manner. 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  217 


CHAPTER    IX. 

Cohas  River.  —  Massabesic.  —  Londonderry.  —  Scotch-Irish  Settlement.  —  Distinguished 
Men.  —  Derry.  —  Piscataquog  River.  —  Francestown.  —  Wcare.  —  GoSstown.  —  Bed- 
ford. —  Souhegan  River  and  Towns  along  its  Course.  —  Litchfield. — Reed's  Island. — 
Hudson.  —  Nashua  River  and  the  Towns  watered  by  it.  —  Dunstable.  —  The  Peqnaaket 
War.  —  Nashua.  —  Tyngsboro'.  —  Chelmsford.  —  Stony  Brook.  —  Dracut.  —  Beaver 
River.  —  John  Nesmith. 

COHAS  RIVER,  which  empties  into  the  Merrimack  on  its  east  bank 
at  Goffe's  Falls,  is  the  outlet  of  Massabesic  Lake,  and  is  four  miles 
in  length.  On  this  stream  there  are  extensive  hosiery,  lumber, 
and  other  mills,  the  former  located  near  its  confluence  with  the 
Merrimack.  This  stream  was  called  Massabesic,  and  subsequently 
Cohassack,  from  the  Indian  word  Cooashauke,  from  cooash  (pine) 
and  auke  (a  place).  The  fall  in  this  stream  between  the  lake  and 
river  is  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet,  and  a  mill  was  built  upon  it 
as  early  as  1740  by  John  McMurphy. 

Massabesic  Lake  is  one  of  the  finest  natural  features  of  Manches- 
ter. Massabesic  is  derived  from  massa  (much),  nipe  (water),  and 
auke  (a  place),  "The  place  of  much  water,"  or  the  great  pond 
place.  It  is  nearly  twenty-five  miles  around  this  lake,  though  no- 
where much  more  than  three  miles  broad.  It  is  reputed  to  contain 
three  hundred  and  sixty-five  islands,  and  certainly  does  contain  a 
great  many,  the  largest  of  which  is  a  seventy-acre  lot,  and  is  known 
as  Brown's  Island. 

Indian  names  were  always  remarkably  descriptive  of  a  place,  and 
the  name  "Massabesic,"  even  as  applied  to  this  lake  alone,  issoj 
but  it  probably  included  and  was  applied  to  a  section  of  territory  ex- 
tending northward,  and  including  a  pond  beyond  Rowe's  Corner,  so 
called,  in  Hooksett.  If  this,  is  a  correct  view,  no  name  could  be  more 
appropriate  than  "  the  place  of  much  water."  The  Great  Massabe- 
sic, the  Island  Pond  and  Little  Massabesic,  Clark's  Pond,  Swago  or 
Swager's  Pond,  Tower  Hill  Pond,  another  at  Rowe's  Corner,  and 


218  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

still  another  beyond  the  last  mentioned  and  south  of  Bear  Hill,  all 
within  a  dozen  miles,  and  most  of  them  natural  ponds.  Taken  to- 
gether, this  may  be  called  by  any  man,  red  or  white,  most  truly  and 
emphatically  the  great  pond  place. 

The  large  stream,  which  has  its  source  in  the  north  part  of  Hook- 
sett,  and  flows,  through  each  of  the  ponds  named,  into  the  Massabesic, 
is  one  of  the  feeders  of  that  lake,  and  the  time  may  come  when,  by 
clearing  the  forests  along  the  upper  waters  of  the  Merrimack  and  its 
branches,  it  will-  become  so  diminished,  that  the  great  manufacturing 
companies  on  the  lower  Merrimack  will  feel  the  necessity  of  securing 
this  great  reservoir,  and  provide  means  to  draw  from  it,  as  they  have 
Winnipesaukee,  Squam,  and  Newfound,  to  replenish  the  Merrimack 
when  depleted  by  seasons  of  unusual  drouth. 

The  Massabesic  Lake  extends  into  the  town  of  Auburn,  formerly 
a  part  of  Chester.  Auburn  was  incorporated  in  1845.  The  people 
are  generally  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  and  farming. 

"Devil's  Den  Mountain"  is  an  elevation  near  the  eastern  shore 
of  the  lake.  At  the  base  of  this  mountain  is  a  large  cave,  the  mouth 
or  entrance  being  about  three  feet  wide  and  six  high.  This  subter- 
ranean passage  extends  nearly  or  quite  to  the  centre  of  the  moun- 
tain, opening  into  large  apartments,  several  of  which  are  fifteen  feet 
square,  and  vary  in  height  from  one  to  five  yards.  Through  an  aper- 
ture too  small -to  admit  a  person,  other  similar  apartments  are  seen, 
with  openings  which  are  supposed  to  lead  into  others  still  beyond. 
The  walls  of  this  cave  are  of  gneiss  formation,  and  acrid  to  the  taste. 

This  cave  is  called  the  "Devil's  Den,"  and,  though  frequently 
explored,  its  extent  is  unknown ;  but  it  appears  to  be  divided  into 
several  sections  of  apartments,  and  as  his  satanic  majesty  has  not  yet 
been  seen  in  the  neighborhood,  or  discovered  in  the  cave,  it  is  pre- 
sumed his  revels  are  kept  in  a  remote  and  impenetrable  section. 

In  some  respects  Londonderry  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
towns  in  New  Hampshire,  originally  embracing  a  large  territory 
from  which  in  whole  or  in  part  several  towns  have  been  organized. 
It  was  incorporated  in  1722,  and  has  produced  many  eminent  men. 
The  settlement  of  this  town  was  in  1719,  and  Parson  McGregor 
preached  the  first  sermon,  from  Isaiah  xxxii.  2,  under  the  shade  of  a 
giant  oak,  on  the  day  after  the  arrival  of  the  colonists. 

McGregor,  besides  being  a  Christian  minister,  was  a  great  admirer 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TKIBUTABIES.  219 

of  the  works  of  nature,  and  would  go  farther  to  see  a  curious  tree, 
pond,  or  precipice  than  any  other  man  in  the  colony.  He  was  the 
first  among  them  to  visit  Amoskeag  Falls,  having  been  attracted 
through  fifteen  miles  of  wilderness,  with  nothing  to  mark  his  course, 
by  reports  of  their  "  hideous  "  grandeur. 

Prior  to  this  time  the  cultivation  of  the  potato  was  unknown  in 
this  part  of  the  country.  Besides  the  introduction  of  the  potato, 
this  colony  introduced  the  manufacture  of  linen. 

Beaver  River  has  its  source  in  a  pond  of  the  same  name  in  Lon- 
donderry, and  falls  into  the  Merrimack  at  Lowell. 

There  was  a  company  from  this  town,  consisting  of  seventy-five 
men,  under  the  command  of  Capt.  George  Reid,  in  the  battle  of 
Bunker  Hill,  and  as  many  more  in  the  battle  of  Bennington,  com- 
manded by  Capt.  David  McClary,  who  was  killed  in  that  battle. 

The  celebrated  Dr.  Thornton,  on  his  arrival  from  Ireland,  settled 
and  practised  medicine  here. 

Among  the  distinguished  men  born  within  the  original  limits  of 
Londonderry,  may  be  mentioned  Gen.  Stark,  Col.  Reid,  Generals 
Miller  and  McNiel,  —  the  two  last  distinguished  officers  in  the  last 
war  with  Great  Britain,  —  J.  McKean,  first  President  of  Bowdoin 
College,  Judges  Livermore,  Bell,  and  Steele,  Chief  Justice  Jeremiah 
Smith,  and  Attorney-General  Prentice. 

Derry,  which  was  taken  from  Londonderry,  is  a  wealthy  town, 
and  was  the  scene  of  the  famous  Derry  Fairs.  To  "buy,  sell,  and 
exchange,  and  to  indulge  in  sports,  games,  healthy  and  harmless 
recreation,"  was  the  design  of  these  fairs  ;  but  in  the  course  of  time 
its  doings  becoming  illegitimate  they  fell  into  disrepute  and  were 
discontinued. 

It  is  said  a  certain  man  went  to  the  fair  on  one  occasion  and 
called  at  a  friend's  house,  hitching  his  horse  at  the  gate.  Finding 
the  company  jovial  and  agreeable  he  remained.  During  his  stay  in 
the  house  he  received  oft-repeated  calls  and  invitations  to  "swap 
horses,"  which  he  uniformly  assented  to,  with  a  one-dollar  proviso, 
without  leaving  the  house.  When  ready  to  return  home,  he  was 
BUI  prised  to  find  the  identical  horse  he  came  with  tied  to  the  post, 
while  he  had  the  snug  little  sum  of  thirty  dollars  in  his  pocket. 

The  Piscataquog  River  falls  into  the  Merrimack  on  its  west  bank 
at  Manchester.  The  sources  of  this  river  are  in  sever  il  towns,  and 


220  THE  MEERIMACK  BIVER; 

the  woods  about  its  head-waters  and  branches  supplied  the  Indiana 
with  large  quantities  of  venison;  hence  its  name.  Pos  (great),  at- 
tuck  (deer),  auke  (a  place),  meaning  great  deer  place.  The  sources 
of  this  stream  are  high,  consequently  it  is  filled  with  falls  and  rap- 
ids. Mills  were  built  upon  it  as  early  as  1775,  at  Piscataquog 
Village. 

Francestown,  where  one  of  the  sources  of  this  stream  is  located, 
was  named  in  honor  of  the  wife  of  Gov.  Wentworth.  It  was  settled, 
by  John  Carson,  in  1760,  and  incorporated  twelve  years  later.  There 
is  a  very  valuable  soapstone  quarry  here,  the  soapstone  being  used 
for  sizing-rollers,  stoves,  and  other  purposes. 

Weare  supplies  a  large  branch  of  the  Piscataquog,  and  was  for- 
merly called  Halestown.  It  has  two  societies  of  Friends  or  Quakers. 
The  town  was  incorporated  in  1764  under  its  present  name,  in  honor 
of  Meshech  Weare,  who  was  for  some  time  "  President "  of  New 
Hampshire. 

Goffstown  received  its  name  in  honor  of  the  Goffe  family.  It  was 
granted  by  the  Masonian  proprietors  to  Rev.  Thomas  Parker  and 
others,  of  Dracut,  Massachusetts,  in  1748. 

There  are  two  mountains  in  this  town  very  near  together,  bearing 
a  strong  resemblance  to  each  other,  and  were  some  years  signal  sta- 
tions for  the  United  States  Coast  Survey.  These  mountains  are 
called  "Uncanoonucks,"  signifying  the  breasts  of  a  woman.  "This 
is  a  corruption  of  the  Indian  word  Wunnunnuoogunash,  the  plural 
of  Wunnunnoogun  (a  breast),  ash  being  added  to  the  singular  to 
form  the  plural  of  inanimate  names." 

Amoskeag  Village,  at  the  Falls  of  that  name,  formerly  belonged 
to  Goffstown,  but  was  annexed  to  Manchester  in  1853.  Rock  Rim- 
mon,  near  the  village,  is  a  prominent  object,  visible  at  a  considerable 
distance.  It  is  an  outcropping  of  gneiss  formation,  being  easily 
accessible  on  the  west,  while  the  south-east  face  is  a  perpendicular 
bluff  some  eighty  feet  high,  its  summit  affording  a  splendid  view  of 
the  river,  the  city  of  Manchester,  and  surrounding  scenery. 

Bedford  is  located  on  the  west  side  of  the  Merrimack  River,  next 
below  Manchester,  and  was  formerly  called  Souhegan  East.  Pis- 
cataquog Village  belonged  to  this  town,  but  was  annexed  to  Man- 
chester in  1853.  In  this  village  is  situated  the  residence  of  William 
Stark,  Esq.,  who  is  not  a  pensioner  on  his  distinguished  ancestors. 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTAEIES.  221 

He  is  a  scholar,  poet,  and  naturalist ;  and,  being  a  gentleman  of 
leisure  and  possessed  of  ample  means,  his  zoological  gardens  contain 
the  most  extensive  private  collection  to  be  found  in  New  England, 
if  not  in  the  United  States. 

Bowman's  Brook,  so  called  from  Jonas  B.  Bowman,  Esq.,  some 
years  deceased,  has  its  course  through  the  north-easterly  portion  of 
this  town,  and  has  been  generally  known  until  within  a  few  years  as 
the  best  trout  brook  in  all  this  region. 

John  A.  McGaw,  Esq.,  a  native  of  Bedford  and  a  wealthy  New 
York  merchant  and  importer,  has  a  fine  summer  residence  near  this 
stream,  on  the  river  road,  one  of  the  finest  drives  in  the  city  of  Man- 
chester. Mr.  McGaw' s  estate  comprises  about  sixty  acres  of  fertile 
interval ;  his  buildings  are  elegant,  and  surrounded  with  fruit  and 
ornamental  trees.  He  has,  also,  one  of  the  largest  and  best  trout 
ponds  in  the  State.  The  splendid  location  and  the  tasteful  improve- 
ments give  warrant  to  the  expression,  "altogether  beautiful,"  as 
often  applied  to  this  situation. 

Pulpit  Brook  has  a  fall  of  two  hundred  feet,  and  is  a  very  pictu- 
resque cascade. 

Bedford  was  granted,  in  1733,  to  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  the 
Narraganset  War.  It  was  settled  four  years  after  by  Robert  and 
James  Walker,  and,  in  1738,  Col.  John  Goffe,  Matthew  Patten,  and 
Capt.  Samuel  Patten  settled  in  the  town.  The  first  white  child 
born  here  was  Silas  Barron. 

On  the  bank  of  the  river,  near  Goffe's  Falls,  an  Indian  burial- 
place  was  discovered,  and,  in  1821,  Dr.  Woodbury  exhumed  several 
skeletons,  one  of  which  was  evidently  buried  in  a  sitting  posture,  and 
had  long  hair  like  a  female,  which  was  in  a  very  perfect  state  of 
preservation. 

Dr.  Peter  P.  Woodbury,  an  eminent  physician,  practised  medi- 
cine in  this  town  until  his  death,  about  ten  years  since.  He  was  a 
brother  to  the  Hon.  Levi  Woodbury. 

The  Souhegan  River,  on  which  are  located  a  number  of  mills  and 
shops,  empties  into  the  Merrimack  on  its  left  bank.  The  Souhegans 
lived  upon  this  river,  occupying  the  rich  intervals  upon  each  bank 
above  and  below  its  mouth.  Souhegan  is  a  contraction  of  Souhe- 
g'anash,  an  Indian  name  in  the  plural  number,  meaning  worn  out 
lands.  These  Indians  were  often  called  Natacooks,  or  Nacook,  from 


222  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

their  occupying  ground  that  was  free  from  trees,  or  cleared  land,  — « 
netecook  meaning  a  clearing. 

Ashburnham,  in  Worcester  County,  Massachusetts,  was  granted 
to  Thomas  Tileston  and  others,  of  Dorchester,  in  the  year  1690,  for 
services  rendered  in  an  expedition  against  Canada,  and  was  called 
for  many  years  "Dorchester  Canada."  This  town  is  located  on  an 
elevated  ridge,  which  is  the  water-shed  between  the  Merrimack  and 
Connecticut  Rivers,  and  contains  several  large  ponds,  which  are  the 
sources  of  the  Souhegan  River. 

Ashby,  on  the  Souhegan  River,  is  an  enterprising  and  pleasant 
town  in  Middlesex  County,  Massachusetts,  on  the  New  Hampshire 
line,  and  contains  mills,  shops,  and  various  mechanical  works. 

New  Ipswich  was  granted  by  the  Masonian  proprietors  in  1750, 
and  was  incorporated  twelve  years  afterwards.  It  is  one  of  the  most 
enterprising  among  the  back  towns  in  the  State,  containing  an  acad- 
emy, which  was  incorporated  as  early  as  1789,  and  several  cotton 
and  other  mills  and  shops.  There  were  sixty-five  men  in  the  battle 
of  Bunker  Hill  from  this  place.  The  first  manufacture  of  cotton 
in  New  Hampshire  was  commenced  here  in  1803. 

Milford,  on  the  Souhegan  River,  was  settled  by  John  Burns  and 
others.  It  was  incorporated  in  1794,  and  is  a  large  and  enterpris- 
ing town.  There  are  three  hundred .  thousand  dollars  invested  in 
cotton  manufactures,  the  Souhegan  Manufacturing  Co.  having  been 
incorporated  in  1846,  the  Milford  Co.  in  1810,  and  the  "Pine  Val- 
ley" Co.  in  1867,  capital  one  hundred  thousand  dollars.  The  Mil- 
ford  Plane  Co.,  which  produces  the  celebrated  Eagle  plane,  is  an 
extensive  establishment,  and  employs  from  fifty  to  seventy-five  hands. 
There  are  several  other  mechanical  works  in  operation,  and  Milford 
is  a  busy,  lively,  and  thrifty  village. 

Amherst,  on  the  Souhegan  River,  was  for  many  years  the  shire 
town  of  Hillsboro'  County.  It  was  first  called  Narragansett  "Num- 
ber Three,"  afterwards  Souhegan  West.  The  first  settlement  was  in 
1734,  by  Samuel  Walton  and  Samuel  Lampson.  It  was  incorpor- 
ated in  1760,  under  the  name  of  Amherst.  It  is  watered  by  Ba- 
boosuck  River,  which  flows  through  two  ponds,  —  Little  and  Great 
Baboosuck,  —  and,  after  leaving  Amherst,  passes  through  Merrimack, 
and  unites  with  the  Souhegan  near  the  confluence  of  that  river  with 
the  Merrimack. 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS   TRIBUTARIES.  223 

Amherst  has  produced  a  large  number  of  eminent  men,  among 
whom  may  be  mentioned  Hon.  Moses  Nichols,  who  was  engaged  in 
the  battle  of  Bennington,  being  a  colonel  under  Stark.  He  also 
held  many  important  civil  offices.  Hon.  Samuel  Dana  was  a  class- 
mate of  the  elder  Adams  at  old  Harvard.  He  also  held  many  posi- 
tions of  honor  and  trust.  Hon.  William  Gordon  was  member  of 
Congress  in  1796,  and  afterwards  Attorney-General  of  the  State. 
Hon.  Robert  Means,  a  native  of  Ireland,  settled  in  Amherst  soon 
after  its  incorporation,  and  was  elected  to  many  high  official  stations. 
The  Athertons  —  Joshua,  Charles  II.,  and  Charles  G.  — were  very 
eminent  and  distinguished  men.  Hon.  Charles  G.  Atherton  was 
Senator  in  Congress  for  several  years,  and  was  a  prominent  member 
of  that  august  body,  while  at  the  bar  it  has  been  said  he  had  but  few 
equals.  One  of  the  most  eminent  members  of  the  New  Hampshire 
bar  said  of  him  :  — 

' '  In  that  gentleman  are  united  many  of  the  rarest  qualifications 
of  an  advocate.  Of  inimitable  self-possession,  with  a  coolness  and 
clearness  of  intellect  which  no  sudden  emergencies  can  disturb ;  with 
that  confidence  in  his  resources  which  nothing  but  native  strength, 
aided  by  the  most  thorough  training,  can  bestow ;  with  a  felicity  and 
fertility  of  illustration,  the  result  alike  of  an  exquisite  natural  taste 
and  a  cultivation  of  those  studies  which  refine,  while  they  strengthen 
the  mind  for  forensic  contests." 

In  1853,  Mr.  Atherton  was  suddenly  stricken  in  the  court-house 
at  Manchester.  He  was  taken  to  his  hotel,  where  he  expired  in  a 
few  days  after  the  attack.  His  last  words  were  :  "I  expected  this, 
but  not  so  soon." 

Horace  Greeley,  of  the  "  New  York  Tribune,"  is  a  native  of  Am- 
herst, and,  as  a  journalist,  has  probably  achieved  as  much  wealth, 
fame,  and  influence  as  any  of  its  native  citizens. 

"Amherst  jail,"  which  was  for  so  many  years  the  terror  of  rogues, 
has  been  discontinued,  —  new  and  elegant  county  buildings  having 
been  erected  at  Manchester. 

"The  Amherst  Cabinet"  was  first  issued  in  1802,  and,  though 
nearly  threescore  years  and  ten,  is  yet  hale  and  vigorous. 

Merrimack  was  formerly  called  "  Souhegan  East."  It  was  settled 
in  1733,  and  incorporated  in  1746.  It  claims  the  credit  of  making 
the  first  Leghorn  bonnets,  which  often  sold  for  forty  or  fifty  dollars. 


224  THE  MEEEIMACE  EIVEE: 

The  Cromwell  House,  a  trading-post,  was  erected  here  previous 
to  its  settlement,  by  John  Cromwell,  an  Englishman ;  but,  after  in- 
dulging for  some  time  in  discreditable  "tricks  of  trade,"  thereby 
enormously  defrauding  the  Indians,  his  irregularities  were  discovered 
by  them,  and  he  fled  precipitately,  thus  saving  his  scalp-lock,  and 
leaving  them  to  redress  their  grievances  by  burning  the  post. 

There  is  at  the  present  time  a  flourishing  military  school  in  Mer- 
rimack. 

Litchfield,  on  the  Merrimack,  was  formerly  called  Natticott.  It 
was  set  off  from  the  territory  of  Dunstable,  and  incorporated  by 
Massachusetts  in  1734,  and  was  chartered  by  New  Hampshire  in 
1749.  This  town  contains  only  eight  thousand  five  hundred  acres, 
much  of  it  being  valuable  timber  land.  It  formerly  belonged  to  and 
was  occupied  by  the  Souhegans,  Naticook  Island,  in  the  Merrimack, 
now  known  as  Reed's  Island,  being  their  summer  residence. 

The  soil  of  Hudson  being  generally  good,  and  it  having  the  ad- 
vantages of  proximity  to  a  good  market,  the  land  is  in  an  excellent 
state  of  cultivation,  and  it  is  a  thrifty  farming  town.  The  original 
grant  of  Dunstable  included  Hudson,  which  was  incorporated  in 
1746  under  the  name  of  Nottingham  West,  which  it  retained  until 
1830,  when  its  name  was  changed  to  Hudson. 

Dunst%ble  was  a  great  resort  of  the  Merrimack  Valley  Indians, 
and,  after  the  settlement  of  Hudson,  in  1710,  they  continued  to 
come  for  a  long  time  on  peaceful  trading  expeditions  from  the  head- 
waters of  the  Connecticut  and  the  Merrimack.  The  fertile  intervals 
of  Hudson  were  cultivated  by  the  Indians,  who  derived  from  them 
liberal  supplies  of  maize,  gourds,  and  beans.  Here,  as  in  Penna- 
cook,  they  grew  considerable  quantities  of  corn,  observing  some  regu- 
larity in  planting,  and  being  obliged  to  watch  it  constantly  to  prevent 
the  crows  —  which  they  called  "kawkont,"  from  their  peculiar 
scream  —  from  destroying  it. 

They  generally  erected  one  or  more  wigwams  in  the  cornfield,  in 
which  the  children  and  others  could  remain  and  watch  the  field, 
keeping  away  the  crows,  but  not  killing  them,  as  they  were  held  as 
a  kind  of  sacred  bird.  The  Indians  had  a  tradition  that  the  crow 
brought  tlieir  first  corn  and  beans  to  them  from  their  "Great  Manit, 
Kautantonwits  "  field  in  the  south-west. 

The  Nashua  River,  a  beautiful  tributary  of  the  Merrimack,  has 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  225 

its  source  in  the  Wachusett  Mountain,  in  Massachusetts,  and  empties 
into  the  Merrimack,  on  its  right  bank,  in  the  city  of  Nashua. 

Like  the  Contoocook  in  New  Hampshire,  the  fountain-heads  which 
contribute  to  the  formation  of  the  Nashua  are  numerous,  and  located 
in  several  towns.  Ashburnham,  where  the  Souhegan  takes  its  rise, 
is  also  one  of  the  sources  of  the  Nashua,  while  others  are  in  Prince- 
ton, Holden,  etc.  The  north  and  south  branches  unite  in  Lancaster, 
the  latter  being  called  Still  River. 

The  Wachusett  Mountain- is  three  thousand  feet  high,  and  derives 
its  name  from  a  tribe  of  Indians  inhabiting  the  territory  about  its 
base,  and  which,  like  the  Nashuas,  acknowledged  the  sway  of  the 
Pennacooks,  and  Passaconnaway  as  a  sagamon  or  bashaba.  Wachu- 
sett is  derived  from  Wadchu  (a  mountain),  and  auke  (a  place). 

"  Thus  the  Wachusetts,  in  Indian  vernacular,  were  the  mountain 
place  tribe.  The  Indians  considered  the  country  along  the  whole 
course  of  the  Nashua,  from  its  head-waters  to  its  confluence  with  the 
Merrimack,  as  one  of  the  most  delightful  sections  of  this  country, 
and,  it  is  said,  the  early  white  settlers  also  regarded  it  as  a  pleasant 
country  and  a  most  superb  stream,  fully  realizing  its  picturesque 
scenery  before  the  demands  of  civilization  and  the  hand  of  art  had 
marred  its  primitive  and  charming  natural  beauty." 

Wachusett  Mountain  and  its  vicinity  continue  to  be  a  great  resort 
in  the  summer  season  for  comfort  and  pleasure-seekers,  and  may  be 
sought  by  all  admirers  of  nature  and  of  charming  natural  scenery. 

The  Nashuas  occupied  the  lands  bordering  that  stream  to  its 
mouth,  and  the  intervals  on  either  side  of  the  Merrimack.  The 
tribe  took  its  name  from  the  river,  and  the  latter  derived  its  name 
from  the  Indian  word  which  signifies  "the  beautiful  stream  with  a 
pebbly  bottom." 

Lancaster,  through  which  flows  the  Nashua  River,  is  one  of  the 
finest  inland  towns  in  New  England.  The  eye  of  the  stranger  is 
attracted  and  his  attention  arrested  by  the  variety  of  its  scenery  and 
the  natural  beauty  and  pleasantness  of  the  place.  For  many  years 
it  was  on  the  frontier  of  civilization,  and  is  one  of  the  oldest  towns 
in  this  section,  it  having  been  settled  as  early  as  1643,  and  incor- 
porated ten  years  later,  and  for  years  after  this  period  was  exposed 
to  the  predatory  and  hostile  incursions  of  the  Indians.  In  1676,  an 
attack  was  made  by  a  large  body  of  them,  some  fifteen  hundred  in 
29 


226  THE  MEliEIMACK  RIVER; 

number,  upon  the  town.  After  a  desperate  resistance,  many  having 
been  slain  on  both  sides,  the  village  was  destroyed,  and  several  per- 
sons taken  captive,  among  whom  was  the  celebrated  Mrs.  Mary 
Rowlandson. 

Lancaster  contains  a  large  number  and  variety  of  mechanical 
shops,  cotton  and  woollen  mills,  and  others  where  hats,  shoes,  musi- 
cal instruments,  metallic  and  wooden  utensils,  and  furniture  are 
made.  Lancaster  gingham  is  widely  famed  as  a  superior  fabric. 

Harvard,  on  the  Nashua  River,  contains  a  community  of  the  sect 
called  Shakers.  This  town  was  taken  from  Groton,  Lancaster,  and 
Stow,  and  incorporated  in  1732.  There  is  a  slate-stone  quarry,  from 
which  gravestones  and  monuments  are  manufactured  in  large  num- 
bers. The  town  also  produces  quantities  of  paper,  shoes,  and  hats. 

The  Nashua  River  provides  the  town  of  Shirley  with  excellent 
water-power,  which  is  improved,  there  being  several  cotton  and 
woollen  mills  in  operation.  Shirley  is  an  uneven  township ;  but  the 
soil  is  generally  strong  and  good,  while  the  large  tracts  of  interval 
along  the  Nashua  are  fertile  and  productive. 

Groton  was  incorporated  1665,  and  in  1676  was  pillaged  and  de- 
stroyed by  the  Indians,  the  inhabitants  taking  refuge  in  garrison- 
houses  provided  for  that  purpose.  Groton  is  a  wealthy  town.  The 
facilities  for  education  are  excellent,  there  being  several  institutions 
of  learning.  But  it  is  best  known  as  the  grand  central  point  or 
junction  of  several  railroads,  by  which  it  has  become  a  great  thor- 
oughfare of  travel. 

Pepperell  was  incorporated  1753.  The  Nashua  River  supplies 
good  mill  privileges,  and  paper  mills  and  shops  for  various  mechani- 
cal purposes  are  in  operation.  The  town  was  named  in  honor  of  Sir 
William  Pepperell,  who  was  chosen,  in  1727,  one  of  His  Majesty's 
Council,  which  office  he  retained  until  his  death.  He  was  com- 
mander of  the  expedition  against  Louisburg,  which  was  successful  in 
all  respects,  and  was  accompanied  by  Dr.  Thornton,  of  Londonderry, 
N.  H.,  better  known  as  Matthew  Thornton,  one  of  the  signers  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  For  his  brilliant  success  in  this  expe- 
dition the  king  honored  him  with  the  dignity  of  baronet.  He  died  in 
Kittery,  Maine,  where  he  resided,  July  6th,  1759,  aged  sixty-three 
years. 

William  Buttrick,  Esq.,  an  enterprising  and  active  business  man, 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  +JI 

who  owned  and  conducted  the  paper  mills  at  this  place,  co>«-tbuted 
much  to  the  prosperity  of  the  town.  Mr.  Buttrick  died  about  twen- 
ty-three years  since. 

Hollis  was  settled  in  1731  by  Peter  Powers;  and  his  son,  also 
named  Peter,  was  the  first  white  child  born  in  the  town.  It  was  incor- 
porated in  1746,  and  named  in  honor  of  Hollis,  Duke  of  Newcastle. 
It  was  formerly  called  Nisitissit,  and  was  afterwards  known  as  Dun- 
stable  West  Parish.  It  is  watered  by  the  Nashua  and  Nisitissit, 
one  of  its  branches. 

Nashua  is  historic  ground.  The  scarcely  tangible  shadows  of 
uncertain  tradition  have  blended  and  mingled  with  the  substance  of 
her  genuine,  undoubted,  and  splendid  records  until  the  very  truth- 
fulness of  details  produces  what  may  be  properly  styled  the  romance  of 
history.  Too  fearfully  and  painfully  true,  on  the  one  hand,  for  mere 
romance,  while  the  romantic  chivalry,  wild  adventure,  and  deeds  of 
daring,  trials,  sufferings,  and  successes,  the  sturdy  and  conspicuous 
valor  of  her  sons,  who  won  unfading  glory  in  fierce,  yet  most  unequal 
conflicts,  give  a  meaning  and  a  significance  to,  and  illustrate  the 
adage  that  ' '  truth  is  stranger  than  fiction. ' ' 

Coming  as  they  did  to  this  spot  by  the  beautiful  river  so  beloved 
by  the  Indians,  to  their  hearthstones  and  tillage  fields,  it  is  not 
strange  the  early  settlers  should  have  been  pursued  by  them  with 
implacable  and  vindictive  animosity,  and  the  woods,  rocks,  and  hills 
concealed  a  lurking,  deadly  foe.  Personal  safety  was  never  counted 
on,  and  he  who  was  obliged  to  go  forth  on  business,  or  to  his  daily 
labor,  took  his  life  in  his  hand,  and  went  at  its  peril. 

On  one  occasion  two  men,  named  Cross  and  Blanchard,  were  at 
work  in  the  woods,  when  they  were  suddenly  set  upon  by  a  party  of 
Indians  and  captured.  Not  returning  at  night,  suspicion  of  their  prob- 
able fate  was  aroused,  and  a  party  of  ten  resolute  and  well-armed  men, 
under  the  command  of  Ebenezer  French,  started  in  search  .of  them. 
On  arriving  at  the  place  where  they  had  been  at  work  it  was  at  once 
discovered  that  Indians  had  been  there  and  captured  them  ;  but  the 
party  learned  by  signs  purposely  left  by  them  that  they  were  living, 
ind  »the  indications  were  positive  that  the  savages  had  but  recently 
fled.  Under  these  circumstances  immediate  pursuit  was,  without 
hesitation,  determined  upon.  At  this  point  of  the  proceedings,  Jo- 
iiah  Farwell,  who  was  one  of  the  party,  suggested,  as  a  precautionary 


228  -  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

measure,  that  they  should  take  a  circuitous  route  and  move  warily ; 
but  it  appears  that  some  difficulty  existed  between  him  and  the 
leader,  French,  when  the  latter,  sneeringly,  exclaimed,  "I  am  going 
to  take  the  direct  path  ;  if  any  of  you  are  not  afraid,  let  him  follow 
me."  *  French  led  the  party,  as  he  declared  he  should,  straight  up 
along  the  Merrimack,  and,  having  reached  the  vicinity  of  the  place 
now  known  as  Thornton's  Ferry,  they  were  fired  upon  and  most  of 
them  killed.  All  the  others,  except  Farwell,  soon  met  the  same  fate. 
He  alone  escaped,  and,  collecting  another  strong  force,  returned  and 
secured  the  bodies  of  eight  of  the  victims,  and  had  them  decently 
buried.  Their  names  were  Lieut.  Ebenezer  French,  Thomas  Lund, 
and  Oliver  Farwell,  of  Dunstable  ;  Daniel  Balding  and  John  Bur- 
bank,  of  Woburn;  Mr.  Johnson,  of  Plainfield;  and  one  other  not 
known. 

The  following  year,  when  Lovewell  made  his  expedition  against 
the  Pequaukets,  he  selected  Josiah  Farwell  as  his  lieutenant,  on 
account  of  his  well-known  prudence  and  skill  in  Indian  fighting. 
When  Love  well's  company  had  been  recruited  and  organized  by  the 
selection  of  himself,  Farwell,  and  Bobbins,  these  officers  were  re- 
quested to  petition  the  government  for  encouragement.  Accord- 
ingly the  following  petition  was  sent  by  them  to  the  General  Court 
of  Massachusetts :  — 

"  The  humble  memorial  of  John  Lovewell,  Josiah  Farwell,  Jonathan  Bobbins, 
all  of  Dunstable,  showeth :  — 

"  That  your  petitioners,  with  nearly  forty  or  fifty  others,  are  inclinable  to 
range  and  to  keep  out  in  the  woods  for  several  months  together,  in  order  to 
kill  and  destroy  their  enemy,  Indians,  provided  they  can  meet  with  encour- 
agement suitable.  And  your  petitioners  are  employed  and  desired  by  many 
others,  humbly  to  propose  and  submit  to  your  Honors'  considerations,  that  if 
such  soldiers  may  be  allowed  five  shillings  per  day  in  case  they  kill  an  enemy 
and  possess  their  scalp,  they  will  employ  themselves  in  Indian  hunting  one 
whole  year;  and,  if  within  that  time  they  do  not  kill  any,  they  are  content  to 
be  allowed  nothing  for  their  wages,  time,  and  trouble. 

"JOHN  LOVEWELL. 
"  JOSIAH  FARWELL. 

"JONATHAN  BOBBINS." 
"Dunstable,  November,  1724." 

In  reply  to  the  petition,  the  objects  which  it  set  forth  were  ap- 

*  Belknap. 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTAEIES.  229 

proved,  and  a  bounty  of  one  hundred  pounds  was  voted  for  "each 
Indian  scalp  taken  by  Lovewell's  company." 

The  terrible  experience  of  the  people  of  Dunstable  was,  however, 
only  a  magnified  transcript  of  the  sufferings  of  other  frontier  settle- 
ments, but  the  record  of  her  trials  and  the  history  of  her  glorious 
deeds  cannot  fail  to  bring  to  mind  the  turbulent  days  of  unmitigated 
hostility,  and  the  incessant  alarms  of  exterminating  war,  — 

"What  time  the  noble  Lovewell  came 

With  fifty  men  from  Dunstable, 
The  cruel  Pequot  tribe  to  tame, 
With  arms  and  bloodshed  terrible,"  — 

and  enrolls  a  long  list  of  her  brave  and  gallant  sons  for  heroic  and 
self-sacrificing  devotion  among  the  bold,  the  strong,  and  the  daring 
of  their  countrymen  who  have  in  arms  achieved  enduring  historical 
renown  and  lasting  gratitude. 

The  city  of  Nashua  was  formerly  embraced  within  that  large 
tract  of  country  which  was  chartered  in  1673  under  the  name  of 
Dunstable.  This  tract  of  land  included  all  the  territory  of  the  towns 
of  Dunstable,  Tyngsboro' ,  and  portions  of  Townsend,  Groton,  Pepper- 
ell,  and  others,  in  Massachusetts,  and  Hollis,  Brookline,  Milford, 
Amherst,  Merrimack,  Hudson,  Litchfield,  and  parts  of  the  territory 
of  other  towns  in  New  Hampshire,  and  was  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  Massachusetts  until  the  State  line  was  permanently  established 
in  1641.  It  was  incorporated  by  New  Hampshire,  in  1746,  under 
the  same  name,  which  it  retained  for  ninety  years  after. 

In  1803,  the  first  post-office  was  established  at  Nashua,,  the  name 
of  the  place  was  changed  to  Indian  Head,  and  a  scow  wa&  launched 
with  ceremony  and  christened  "The  Nashua,"  and  the  proceedings 
were  marked  with  great  parade  and  display.  At  that  time  an  "inn," 
a  store,  and  three  or  four  houses  were  the  sum  total  of  the  present 
large  and  flourishing  city  of  Nashua.  The  population  in  1820 
aumbered  only  one  thousand  one  hundred  and  forty-two. 

In  1842,  there  was  a  disagreement  about  the  location  of  the  town 
louse.  It  was  located  on  the  south  side  of  the  Nashua  River,  and 
;he  people  on  both  sides  claimed  it.  A  great  deal  of  feeling  was 
nanifested  on  both  sides ;  the  dispute  waxed  warm,  and  the  town 
yas  divided.  The  north  side,  and  a  small  tract  of  the  north-east 


230.  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

part  of  the  south  side,  were  incorporated  by  the  name  of  Nashville 
This  state  of  things  existed  until  1853,  when  a  city  charter  was  ob- 
tained, under  which  the  divided  and  estranged  family  was  brought 
together.  The  "House  of  Nashua "  —  divided  against  itself —  was 
reunited,  Nashville  was  mollified,  the  "fatted  calf"  was  killed,  and, 
shoulder  to  shoulder,  hand  in  hand,  they  have  advanced  through 
these  intervening  fifteen  years  until  now  Nashua  is  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal cities  in  wealth,  population,  beauty,  enterprise,  and  prosperity 
of  the  old  Granite  State. 

Cities,  like  animals,  thrive  and  increase,  fatten  and  flourish,  on 
the  sustenance  with  which  they  are  supplied.  Thus,  New  York 
gained  rapidly  on  commerce ;  St.  Louis  made  a  healthy  beginning 
on  buffalo  robes,  and  peltries  generally ;  New  Bedford  does  well  on 
•whales ;  Newport,  on  the  folly  of  shoddy  nabobs ;  Holton.  on  copper 
mines ;  Pittsburg,  on  iron  and  coal ;  Gloucester,  on  fish ;  Chicago, 
on  wickedness ;  Bangor.  on  lumber ;  Lynn,  on  shoes ;  and  Nashua 
on  manufactures ;  and  her  growth  has  been  rapid  and  substantial. 

In  1823,  the  water-power  and  adjacent  lands  were  secured  for  the 
purpose  of  improvement,  and,  before  the  end  of  three  years,  the 
Nashua  and  the  Jackson  were  in  operation,  and  before  the  end  of 
twenty-five  years  the  city  numbered  more  thousands  of  population 
than  it  did  hundreds  at  the  time  these  companies  commenced  opera- 
tions. 

"  The  Pennichuck  Water  Works  were  constructed  in  1854.  The 
Pennichuck  has  its  rise  in  a  pond  near  the  north-western  boundary 
of  the  city,  and  is  fed  by  many  never-failing  springs  of  soft,  pure 
water,  and  falls  into  the  Merrimack.  The  water  is  taken  at  a  point 
just  above  the  Concord  Railroad,  from  an  artificial  pond  of  twenty- 
six  acres,  and  forced  by  a  turbine  wheel  of  eighty  horse-power  into  a 
reservoir,  half  a  mile  north  of  the  City  Hall,  one  hundred  and  ten 
feet  above  the  street  level  at  that  point,  and  of  a  capacity  of  one 
million  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  gallons." 

The  Nashua  Manufacturing  Company  was  incorporated  in  June, 
1823,  with  a  capital  of  one  million  dollars. 

Salmon  Brook,  which  rises  in  Groton,  Massachusetts,  passes 
through  Nashua,  where  mechanical  shops  are  located  along  its 
course.  In  fact,  the  city  seems  one  extensive  workshop,  where 
mechanics  and  artisans  congregate  and  flourish,  and  where  every  va- . 


ITS  SOUBCE  AND  ITS   TRIBUTAEIES.  231 

riety  of  machinery  and  implements  is  turned  out,  —  massive  and 
ponderous,  delicate  and  curious,  useful  and  ornamental,  —  which,  in 
perfection,  diversity,  quality,  and  value,  in  detail  and  in  the  aggre- 
gate, are  claimed  to  be  unsurpassed  by  few  cities  of  its  size  in  New 
England. 

There  are  three  newspapers  published  here,  and  the  facilities  for 
good  common-school  education  are  not  inferior  to  any  other  wide- 
awake place ;  a  commendable  public  spirit,  combined  with  experience, 
having  provided  suitable  buildings,  teachers,  and  all  the  necessary  ap- 
pliances for  the  most  approved  and  thorough  system  of  public  schools. 

Living  as  they  did  in  an  era  of  stirring  events,  many  of  the  first 
settlers  of  Nashua  became  historic  characters,  and  are  still  repre- 
sented among  the  prominent  and  most  influential  of  its  citizens. 
The  tombstones  in  the  old  cemetery  below  the  city  (the  oldest  burial- 
place  west  of  Portsmouth  and  Hampton)  present  a  long  list  of  names 
well  known  to  fame  ;  among  them  that  of  John  Lovewell  (father  of 
the  hero  of  Pequauket),  who  died  in  1754,  aged  one  hundred  and 
twenty  years.  Among  those  who  aided  materially  in  bringing  the 
city  of  Nashua  into  existence,  Gen.  Noah  Lovewell  was  the  first 
postmaster  (1803)  ;  Daniel  Abbot,  Esq.,  was  a  prominent  lawyer 
and  active  business  man,  and  B.  F.  French  was,  at  one  time,  his 
law-partner,  afterwards  agent  of  the  Boott,  at  Lowell,  and  other 
corporations ;  Israel  Hunt  was  an  officer  in  the  battle  of  Bunker 
Hill ;  his  sons,  Gen.  Israel  and  John  M.  Hunt,  Esq.,  are  still  among 
the  foremost  men  of  Nashua.  The  Frenches,  Benjamin  and  Thomas, 
were  also  among  the  first  families,  having  descended,  on  the  mother's 
side,  from  the  celebrated  Jonathan  Blanchard.  Col.  Joseph  Gree- 
ley,  another  of  the  old  stock,  died  but  a  few  years  since.  Hon.  Amos 
Kendall,  postmaster-general  under  Gen.  Jackson,  was  also  one  of 
the  prominent  men  who  originated  in  old  Dunstable. 

Among  the  foremost  business  men  of  Nashua  is  Gen.  George 
Stark,  a  descendant  of  the  famous  Stark  family,  of  Derryfield,  and 
brother  to  William  Stark,  the  poet.  Gen.  Stark  is  one  of  the  lead- 
ing railroad  men  of  New  England,  and  has  been  a  candidate  for 
Governor  of  New  Hampshire,  a  position  he  is  eminently  qualified  to 
adorn.  Col.  Thomas  P.  Pierce  went  to  Manchester  to  reside  in 
1840 ;  in  1847  he  enlisted  for  the  Mexican  War,  and  was  appointed 
lieutenant  in  the  regular  army.  He  served  through  the  war  with 


232  TEE  MEEEIMACK  RIVER; 

distinction,  and  was  complimented  for  gallant  and  meritorious  con- 
duct.  In  1853  he  was  appointed  postmaster  at  Manchester  by  Pres 
ident  Pierce,  and  again  by  President  Buchanan,  and  the  people  of 
that  city  endorsed  his  administration  of  the  duties  of  his  position  for 
eight  years  with  entire  unanimity,  and,  to  this  day,  he  is  referred  to 
as  the  "model  postmaster."  In  1861  he  was  appointed  colonel  of 
the  2d  New  Hampshire  Regiment,  but  was,  however,  in  consequence 
of  the  derangement  of  his  private  business,  compelled  to  resign  before 
taking  the  field.  A  few  years  since  Col.  Pierce  removed  to  Nashua, 
where  he  is  counted  among  the  foremost  of  the  younger  portion  of 
her  active  and  enterprising  business  men. 

In  addition  to  the  Nashua  and  Jackson  Companies,  the  Iron  Com- 
pany has  a  capital  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  dollars ; 
the  Nashua  Lock  Company,  a  capital  of  sixty  thousand  dollars;  Un- 
derbill Edge  Tool  Company,  a  capital  of  eighty  thousand  dollars; 
and  the  Francestown  Soapstone  Company,  a  capital  of  three  hundred 
thousand  dollars. 

The  fine  natural  features  of  Nashua  supply  her  with  the  elements 
of  a  beautiful  city.  The  pellucid  Nashua  meandering  through  its 
very  centre,  her  fine  streets,  splendid  buildings,  and  grand  old  orna- 
mental trees,  public  buildings,  churches,  factories,  and  workshops, 
the  hum  of  the  spindle,  the  ring  of  the  anvil,  the  constant  rumble  of 
car-wheels,  all  combine  to  give  the  city  an  air  of  beauty,  enterprise, 
and  thrift  most  attractive  and  agreeable. 

Tyngsboro'  was  formerly  a  portion  of  the  Dunstable  charter,  and 
was  incorporated,  1789,  under  its  present  name,  which  it  received 
in  honor  of  the  Tyngs,  who  were  famous  Indian  fighters  among  the 
celebrated  names  in  old  Dunstable. 

In  1734  Massachusetts  granted  a  tract  of  territory,  bounded  on 
the  west  by  the  Merrimack,  and  on  the  east  by  a  line  three  miles 
from  that  river,  extending  from  the  north  line  of  Litchfield  to  the 
Suncook  River,  which  included  portions  of  what  is  now  Londonderry, 
Manchester,  and  Hooksett,  to  Col.  William  Tyng  and  others,  as  a 
reward  for  their  services  in  fighting  the  Indians.  This  service 
consisted  of  raising  a  company  of  the  daring  and  prudent  men  who 
penetrated  the  enemy's  country  as  far  as  the  Winnipesaukee,  on 
snow-shoes,  in  the  depth  of  winter,  killing  six  Indians,  and  dispersing 
all  the  bands  with  which  they  came  in  contact.  This  grant  was 


ITS  SOUECE  AND  ITS  TEIBUTAEIES.  233 

called  Tyngstown,  but,  as  Massachusetts  had  only  the  right  of  the 
usurper  to  make  this  grant,  it  was,  of  course,  void  and  of  no  effect. 

On  hearing  of  the  disaster  to  Capt.  Lovewell's  forces  at  Pequau- 
ket,  Gov.  Dummer  forthwith  despatched  a  company  under  Col.  Elea- 
zer  Tyng  to  succor  the  living,  if  possible,  and  recover  the  dead.  Col. 
Tyng  marched  on  the  17th  of  May,  and  on  the  following  day  wrote 
Gov.  Dummer :  — 

"MAY  IT  PLEASE  YOUR  HONOR : — 

"  This  day  I  marched  from  Amoskeag,  having  fifty -five  of  my  own  men  an  I 
thirty-two  of  Capt.  White's.  The  men  are  well,  and  proceeded  with  a  great 
deal  of  life  and  courage.  Yesterday  I  was  forced  to  lie  still,  by  reason  of  the 
rain.  I  would  humbly  offer  something  to  your  Honor  in  the  behalf  of  our  peo- 
ple who  are  left  destitute  and  naked,  that  you  would  be  pleased  to  consider 
their  circumstances,  and  order  what  you  shall  think  proper  for  their  defence 
till  we  return.  "  I  am  your  Honor's 

"Most  ob't  servant, 

"ELEAZER  TYNG. 

"  Amoskeag,  May  19th,  1725." 

Gov.  Dummer  issued  the  following  order  :  — 

"  To  COL.  FLAGG  :  — 

"  Sir,  —  These  are  to  empower  and  direct  you  forthwith  to  detach  or  im- 
press out  of  the  regiment  where  you  are  lieut.  col.,  a  sergeant  and  twelve 
effective,  able-bodied  men,  well  armed  for  his  Majesty's  service,  for  the  se- 
curity and  reinforcement  of  Dunstable,  until  the  return  of  Col.  Tyng  and  his 
company. 

"  They  must  be  posted  at  the  garrisons  of  Joseph  Bloghead,  Nathaniel  Hill, 
John  Taylour,  and  John  Lovewell,  and  three  sentinels  in  each  garrison,  and 
the  sergeant  in  that  of  the  four  that  is  nearest  the  centre. 

"  The  sergeant  must  be  very  careful  to  keep  the  men  well  upon  their  duty, 
so  as  to  be  a  good  guard  and  protection  to  the  people,  and  you  must  give 
them  directions  in  writing  accordingly.  Let  the  matter  be  effected  with  all 
possible  despatch. 

"  WILLIAM  DUMMER. 

"  Boston,  May  19th,  1725." 

The  force  under  Col.  Tyng  was  successful  in  finding  the  battle- 
ground, but  discovered  no  Indians.  They  found  and  identified  the 
bodies  of  Capt.  John  Lovewell,*  Ensign  Jonathan  Woods,  Ensign 

*  "  With  footsteps  slow  shall  travellers  go, 

Where  Lovewell's  pond  shines  clear  and  bright, 
And  mark  the  place  where  those  are  laid 
Who  fell  in  Lovewell's  bloody  fight." 

This  "  poem,"  descriptive  of  Lovewoll's  famous  fight,  was  published  twe  year  after  the 
battle,  and  republished  in  the  N.  H.  Hist.  Soc.  Pub.,  Vol.  III. 
30 


234  THE  MEIiRIMACK  RIVER; 

John  Harwood,  and  Robert  Usher,  all  of  Dunstable;  Jacob  Ful- 
^m,  of  Weston ;  Jacob  Farrar  and  Josiah  Davis,  of  Concord ; 
Thomas  Woods,  Daniel  Woods,  and  John  Jefts,  of  Groton ;  Ichabod 
Johnson,  of  Woburn;  Jonathan  Kittredge,  of  Billerica." 

Col.  Tjng  also  found  an  Indian  grave,  which  he  opened.  It  con- 
tained among  other  bodies  that  of  the  dreaded  Paugus.* 

The  scene  of  this  battle,  where  the  intrepid  Lovewell  and  nearly 
all  his  force  were  slain,  was  in  the  ' '  Pequaquauke  country. ' '  These 
Indians,  made  up  of  the  remnants  of  the  various  tribes  or  bands  of 
the  Pennacook  confederacy,  had  located  themselves  upon  the 
branches  of  the  Saco,  where  was  an  abundance  of  fish  and  game, 
ind,  from  the  fact  that  their  main  village  was  upon  the  Saco,  near 
where  that  river  makes  a  noted  bend  or  circuit  of  some  thirty-six 
miles,  principally  in  Fryeburg,  Maine,  returning  within  a  mile  or 
two  of  the  Indian  village  where  it  commenced  its  detour,  were  called 
Pequaquaukes,  or  Indians  at  the  crooked  place,  —  Pequaquaukes 
being  derived  from  the  adjective  pequauquis  (crooked)  and  auke  (a 
place). 

This  name,  thus  received,  was  applied  to  the  Indians  of  all  that 
region  of  country,  and  has  ever  since  been  applied  to  the  region  of 
country  itself.  The  Pequaquaukes  were  under  the  control  of  two 
powerful  sagamons,  Paugus  (the  oak)  and  Wahowah  (the  broad 
shouldered). 

The  Tyng  family  of  Dunstable  appear  to  have  been  leading  and 
prominent  people  for  many  years  among  the  illustrious  names  of 
that  distinguished  settlement.  Previous  to  1700,  when  a  small 
grant  was  made  to  Wonnalancet,  that  mild  and  amiable  chieftain 
was  placed  under  the  charge  of  Mr.  Jonathan  Tyng,  of  Tyngsboro'. 

This  town  is  situated  on  both  sides  of  the  Merrimack,  which  is 
here  a  broad  and  beautiful  river.  Having  pursued  a  general  south- 
erly course  since  leaving  old  Lafayette,  the  Merrimack  commences  a 
grand  detour  at  this  place,  maintaining  a  remarkably  regular  trend, 
and  in  the  course  of  fifteen  miles  heads  due  east,  and  continues  in 
the  same  direction  to  the  sea. 


1 " 'Twas  Paugus  led  the  Peqw'k't  tribe; 
As  runs  the  fox,  would  Paugus  run ; 
As  howls  the  wild  wolf,  would  he  howl; 
A  huge  bear-skin  had  Paugus  on."  • 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  235 

Chelmsford  is  a  very  ancient  town,  having  been  settled  more  than 
two  hundred  years  ago.  For  many  years  the  product  of  manufac" 
tured  articles  has  been  in  the  aggregate  large,  consisting  principally 
of  glass,  iron,  cotton,  and  wool  fabrics. 

Stony  Brook,  which  rises  in  Groton,  unites  with  the  Merrimack 
in  this  town.  On  this  stream  are  many  mills,  and  quite  a  large  in- 
vestment of  capital  in  various  kinds  of  manufacturing.  Among  the 
largest  of  these  may  be  mentioned  the  Abbott  Worsted  Company, 
Graniteville,  capital  seventy-five  thousand  dollars  ;  Nail  Factory  at 
Forge  Village,  capital  thirty  thousand  dollars ;  Eagle  Mills,  West 
Chelmsford.  At  North  Chelmsford  are  located  the  Swain  Turbine 
Company,  with  a  capital  of  fifty  thousand  dollars;  the  Baldwin 
Company  (worsted  yarn),  capital  fifty-two  thousand  dollars; 
Foundry  Company,  capital  sixteen  thousand  dollars,  and  the  Shel- 
don Hosiery  Company,  with  a  capital  of  one  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars. 

Previous  to  the  charter  of  Dunstable,  Chelmsford  was  an  outpost 
of  civilization,  and  subsequent  to  that  time  it  appears  that  a  garri- 
son was  maintained,  and  if  cruelty  was  practised  on  occasions  by  the 
Indians,  it  was  also  perpetrated  on  them  in  turn  without  cause,  and 
hardly  less  savage  than  their  own. 

Sometime  about  1680  the  barn  of  Lieut.  James  Richardson  was 
destroyed  by  fire,  and  its  destruction  was  charged  to  the  Indians, 
and  fourteen  men,  armed  with  guns  loaded  with  buckshot,  repaired 
to  wigwams  of  the  Wamesits,  called  them  out,  and  two  of  the  men 
discharged  their  pieces  among  them,  killing  one  boy  and  wounding 
five  of  the  women  and  children.  It  is  true  that  the  men,  Lorgin 
and  Robins,  who  had  fired  upon  them,  were  tried;  but  of  course,  such 
was  the  feeling  against  the  Indians,  they  were  acquitted,  "  to  the 
great  grief  and  trouble  generally  of  magistracy  and  ministry  and 
other  wise  and  godly  men." 

This  was  in  December,  and  in  the  February  following  the 
Wamesits  sent  a  petition  to  the  governor  and  council,  requesting  to 
be  removed  from  Chelmsford,  fearing  that  hostile  Indians  would 
make  reprisals  for  this  cowardly  act,  alleging  that  in  such  an  event 
they  would  again  suffer  without  cause ;  but  the  governor  paid  no  at- 
tention to  their  request,  and  they  fled  into  the  wilderness  towards 
Pennacook,  leaving  behind  in  one  wigwam  several  sick,  lame,  and 


236  THE  MEEEIMACK  BIVEE; 

blind.  After  they  had  retired,  the  people  of  Chelmsford  assembled 
and  set  fire  to  this  wigwam,  which,  together  with  these  poor  Indians, 
six  in  number,  was  destroyed. 

At  the  time  of  the  settlement  of  Chelmsford,  the  beautiful  island 
in  the  river  here,  which  was  .called  Wickasauke,  was  a  spot  of  con- 
siderable consequence,  and  no  little  interest.  It  appears  that  this 
island  belonged  to  the  family  of  Passaconaway,  and  was  an  impor- 
tant cornfield,  and  the  occasional  residence  of  his  successor,  Won- 
nalancet.  The  elder  brother  of  the  latter,  having  become  surety  for 
another  Indian,  was  taken  and  lodged  in  jail  in  Boston.  The  kind- 
hearted  Wonnalancet  set  about  providing  means  to  release  his  unfor- 
tunate brother,  and  all  else  failing  he  sent  the  following  petition, 
requesting  to  be  allowed  to  sell  the  island  that  he  might  release 
Nanamocomuck  from  prison.  This  petition  received  the  following 
answer :  — 

"  License  for  Indians  to  sell  an  Island.  —  Whereas  this  Court  is  Informed  yt 
Peasconaway's  soune  now  in  prison  as  surety  for  ye  payment  of  a  debt  of 
forty-five  pounds  or  thereabouts,  and  having  nothing  to  pay  but  affirms  that 
several  Indians  now  in  possession  of  a  'smale  island  in  Merrimack  River 
(about  sixty  acres),  the  half  whereof  is  broken  up,  are  willing  after  this  next 
yeares  use  of  their  sayd  island  to  sell  theire  interest  in  ye  sayd  island  to  who- 
ever will  purchase  it,  and  so  redeem  the  sayd  Peasconaway's  soune  out  of 
prison.  The  Magistrates  are  willing  to  allow  the  sayd  Indians  liberty  to  sell 
ye  sayd  island  to  Ensigne  Jno.  Evered  as  they  and  he  can  agree  for  ye  ends 
aforesaid.  If  their  brethren  the  deputys  consent  hereto.  8  Nov.  1659.  The 
deputys  consent  hereto  provided  the  Indians  have  liberty  to  sell  the  said 
island  to  him  that  will  give  most  for  it. 

"  Consented  to  by  ye  Magistrates. 

"  EEWD.  RAWSON,  Sec'y." 

The  island  was  sold.  Ensign  John  Evered,  or  Webb  as  he  was 
sometimes  called,  being  the  purchaser,  and  Nanamocomuck  was  re- 
leased from  jail.  Wonnalancet,  however,  received  a  grant,  through 
pity,  of  one  hundred  acres,  which  was  located  on  a  hill  ten  or  twelve 
miles  west  of  Wickasauke.  In  1665  another  petition  came  from 
him  concerning  the  island :  — 

"  To  the  Worshipful  Richard  Bellingham,  Esq.,  Gov'r,  and  to  the  rest  of 
the  Honord  Generall  Coart. 

"  The  petition  of  us  poore  neibour  Indians,  whose  names  are  hereunto  sub- 
scribed, humbly  sheweth  that  whereas  Indians  severall  years  since  we  yr 
petit's  out  of  pity  and  compassion  to  our  pore  brother  and  countryman  to  re- 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TBIBUTAEIES.  237 

deem  him  out  of  prison  and  bondage  whose  name  was  Nanamocomuck,  the 
elder  son  of  Passaconewa,  who  was  cast  into  prison  for  a  debt  of  anothex 
Indian  unto  John  Tinker,  for  which  he  gave  his  word ;  the  redemption  of 
whome  did  cost  us  our  desirable  posetions  where  we  and  oure  had  and  did 
hope  to  enjoy  our  livelihood  for  ourselves  and  posterity ;  namely,  an  island 
on  Merrimack  River,  called  by  the  name  of  Wicosurke,  which  was  purchased 
by  Mr.  John  Web,  who  hath  curtiously  given  vs  leaue  to  plant  vpon  ever 
since  he  hath  possessed  the  same,  we  doe  not  know  wheather  to  goe,  nor 
where  to  place  ourselves  for  our  Lively  hood  in  procuring  vs  bread ;  having 
beine  very  solicitious  wh  Mr.  Web  to  let  vs  enjoy  our  said  posetions  againe, 
he  did  condescend  to  our  motion  provided  we  would  repay  him  his  charges, 
but  we  are  pore  and  canot  so  doe.  Our  request  is  Mr.  Web  may  have  a  grant 
of  about  5  C  acres  of  land  in  two  places  adjoyning  his  owne  lands  in  the  wil- 
derness, which  is  our  owne  proper  lands  as  the  aforesaid  island  ever  was. 
"  10 ;  8 ;  65.  Nobhow  in  behalf  of  my  wife  and  children, 

"  VNANUNQUOSETT. 

"  WANALANCETT. 

"  NONATOMKNUT. 

"If  the  court  please  to  grant  this  then  yr petitioner  Wanalancett  is  willing 
to  surrender  up  ye  hundred  acres  of  land  yt  was  granted  him  by  the  court." 

The  reply  to  this  petition  was  favorable,  and  as  follows  :  — 

"  In  answer  to  this  petition  the  Court  grant  Mr.  Jno.  Evered  five  hundred 
acres  of  land,  upon  condition  hee  release  his  right  in  an  island  in  Merimacke 
River,  called  Wicosacke,  which  was  purchased  by  him  of  the  Indian  peti- 
tioners; also  upon  condition  Wonalancett  do  release  a  former  grant  to  him 
of  an  hundred  acres,  and  the  court  do  grant  said  island  to  petitioner.  John 
Parker  and  Jonathan  Danforth  are  appointed  to  lay  out  this  grant  of  five 
hundred  acres  to  John  Evered. 

"  EDWARD  RAWSON,  Secretary. 

"  Consented  to  by  the  Deputies* 
« 14  October,  1665." 

Wonnalancet  and  his  friends  continued  to  occupy  and  cultivate 
this  island  for  some  years,  under  the  supervision'  of  Mr.  Jonathan 
Tyng,  of  Dunstable,  and  Mr.  Robert  Parris,  his  "bayl."  Yet  this 
noble  child  of  the  forest,  after  his  experience,  having  seen  the  prac- 
tical workings  of  a  faith,  which  he  'was  importuned  to  adopt,  in  the 
uncalled-for  and  inhuman  slaughter  of  his  defenceless  people  at 
Chelmsford,  distrustful,  if  not  of  Christianity,  certainly  and  with 
good  reason  of  its  professors,  was  himself  a  practical  and  genuine 
Christian.*  Having  been  crowded  out  of  possession  by  the  grasp- 

*  He  was  always  friendly  to  the  English,  but  unwilling  to  be  importuned  about  adopting 
their  religion.  When  he  had  got  to  be  very  old,  however,  he  submitted  to  their  desires  in 
that  respect.  Upon  that  occasion  he  is  reported  to  have  said,  /  must  acknowledge  I  have  all 
my  days  been  used  to  pass  in  an  old  canoe,  and  now  you  exhort  me  to  change  and  leave  my  old 


238  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVEE; 

ing  and  constantly  encroaching  English,  he  finally  retired  to  the  St. 
Francis. 

As  a  proof  of  his  great  but  unobtrusive  friendship  towards  the 
English,  it  is  related  of  him  that  he  came  to  Chelmsford  after  an 
absence  of  some  years,  and  meeting  the  Rev.  Mr.  Fisk  asked  him 
the  news,  and  if  Chelmsford  had  suffered  during  the  Indian  War. 
"  No,"  said  Mr.  Fisk,  " it  has  not,  thank  God  !  "  "Me  next,"  re- 
plied Wonnalancet,  who  had  evidently  interposed  his  personal, 
friendly  feeling,  his  influence,  and  his  authority  to  shield  Chelmsford 
from  the  doom  which  perhaps  otherwise  impended  over  it.  Another 
instance  of  his  unwavering  friendship  and  Christian  spirit  may  be 
given.  Wonnalancet  informed  Major  Hinchman,  commander  of  the 
post  at  Chelmsford,  that  the  Mohokes  were  in  the  valley  of  the 
Merrimack,  above  Dunstable,  and  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  mouth 
of  the  Souhegan  River.  James  Parker  at  once  communicated  this 
information  to  the  governor  and  council  in  these  terms :  — 

"  From  Mr.  Henchman's  farme  ner  Meremack,  hast  post  hast. 

"  To  the  Honered  Govner  and  Counsell.  This  may  informe  youer  honores 
that  Sagamore  Evanalanset  (Wonnalancet)  came  this  morning  to  informe  me, 
and  then  went  to  Mr.  Tyng's  to  informe  him,  that  his  son  being  on  ye  outher 
sid  of  Meremack  River  a  hunting,  and  his  dauter  with  him,  np  the  river,  over 
against  Souhegan,  upon  the  22d  day  of  this  instant,  about  ten  of  the  clock  in 
the  morning,  he  discovered  15  Indens  on  this  sid  of  the  river  which  he 
soposed  to  be  Mohokes  by  their  speech,  and  he  having  a  canow  ther  in  the 
river,  he  went  to  breck  his  canow  that  they  might  not  have  ani  ues  of  it,  in 
the  menetime  thay  shot  about  thirty  guns  at  him,  and  he  being  much  frighted, 
fled  and  came  home  forthwith  to  Nahamcok,  wher  ther  wigowemes  now 
stand. 

"  Not  eles  at  present,  but  remain  your  servant  to  command, 

"JAMES  PARKER. 

"  Eec'd  9  night  24  Mrh.  76-7." 

As  the  rolling  seasons  each  in  turn  present  a  charm  peculiarly 
its  own,  differing  in  degree  less  than  in  kind,  each  indiscriminately 
attractive  to  those  who  properly  realize  and  appreciate  the  wonder- 
ful economy  and  perfection  of  nature ;  so  likewise  does  this  beautiful 

canoe  and  embark  in  a  new  one,  to  which  I  have  hitherto  been  unwilling,  but  now  I  yield  up  my- 

telfto  your  advice,  and  enter  into  a  new  canoe,  and  do  engage  to  pray  to  God  hereafter. — (Drake's 

Book  of  the  Indians.) 

The  Apostle  John  Eliot  wrote  to  Hon.  Robert  Boyle,  in  England,  1677,  as  follows:  — 
"  We  had  a  sachem  of  the  greatest  blood  in  the  country  submitted  to  pray  to  God  a  little 

before  the  wars;  his  name  is  Wanalauncet." 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  23Sr 

and  bright  rolling  river,  ever  varying,  ever  charming,  dashing  down 
the  mountain  side  in  countless  noisy  rivulets,  each  directing  its 
course,  not  perhaps  in  a  right  line,  but  with  ultimate  certainty  10 
the  same  great  channel,  as  the  races  of  men,  sweeping  down  from  tne 
misty  summits  of  antiquity  and  barbarism,  are  destined  finally  to 
unite  in  one  homogeneous  mass,  when  brotherly  love,  "peace  on 
earth,"  and  good  will  shall  be  the  prevailing  elements  of  the  mighty 
but  tranquil  current,  then  meandering  through  the  secluded  dells 
beneath  the  shade  of  great  woods  whose  shadows  have  danced  for 
long  ages  upon  its  buoyant  ripples,  or  dashing  in  foam  and  fury  over 
interposing  rocks  and  falls,  narrowing  to  deep  and  quiet  channels, 
again  expanding,  as  at  Chelmsford,  where  it  spreads  to  the  dimension 
of  a  broad  and  majestic  river. 

The  Pawtucket  dam  has  the  effect  to  set  the  water  back  far  above 
Chelmsford,  and  to  give  the  river  a  channel  deep,  wide,  and  still,  and 
for  miles  its  placid  and  polished  surface  and  its  graceful  curve  are 
very  marked  and  noticeable  features  of  the  natural  scenery  of  this 
vicinity.  When  the  great  lumber  "drive"  from  Woodstock  and 
the  ungranted  lands  reaches  here,  and  is  shut  into  the  river  by  the 
Lowell  boom,  what  can  be  more  picturesque  than  to  see  ten  million 
feet  of  round  lumber  floating  on  its  surface.  This  sight,  though  dif- 
fering from  the  "hideous"  falls  and  many  other  famous  points  in 
the  course  of  this  river,  is  grand  indeed.  Logs  and  lumber,  in  all 
forms,  were  originally  "rafted"  down  this  river  in  the  following 
manner :  The  lumber  was  ranged  in  convenient  lengths,  side  by 
side,  until  it  reached  a  breadth  to  navigate  handily,  and  then  securely 
fastened.  The  credit  of  introducing  the  "drive"  system  on  this 
river,  which  is  more  economical  and  rapid,  and  a  decided  improve- 
ment in  all  respects,  is  due  to  Nicholas  Norcross,  Esq. 

Dracut  was  -incorporated  in  1701.  Beaver  River,  which  rises  in 
Londonderry,  New  Hampshire,  falls  into  the  Merrimack  on  its  left 
bank  in  Dracut ;  and  on  this  stream,  about  one  mile  from  its  mouth, 
are  extensive  woollen  manufactories,  at  a  place  which  has  long  been 
familiarly  known  as  Dracut  Navy  Yard.  This  river,  like  most 
other  tributaries  of  the  Merrimack,  affords  many  mill  privileges, 
which  are  well  employed,  either  for  extensive  manufactories,  or  for 
the  saw  and  grain  mill  and  other  works  which  accommodate  the  local 
business  and  supply  the  needs  of  the  people  living  along  its  'vmrse. 


240  THE  MEEEIMACK  EIVEE; 

But  a  mile  or  so  from  its  source  there  was,  in  Derry,  on  this 
stream,  a  small  mill,  and  in  the  village  is  a  grain  and  saw  mill  and 
mechanical  works,  also  a  clothing-mill ;  at  Londonderry  a  grain- 
mill  was  Greeted  sixty-five  years  ago  ;  a  saw-mill  and  small  factory, 
also  Butler's  saw  and  grain  mill ;  in  Pelham  there  is  a  privilege 
which  was  first  operated  sixty  years  ago ;  the  Ames  grist-mill  and 
saw-mill  in  Dracut,  now  owned  by  the  Merrimack  Woollen  Mills 
Company,  and  used  as  a  woollen-mill ;  the  Goodhue  privilege,  owned 
and  operated  by  Charles  Richmond  for  making  paper;  at  the  "Navy 
Yard,"  so  called,  is  the  Merrimack  Woollen  Mills  Company.  As 
early  as  1815  this  privilege  was  owned  by  the  Messrs.  Stanley,  who 
manufactured  cotton  yarns.  Since  that  time  several  parties  have  op- 
erated this  power  for  the  manufacture  of  satinets,  flannels,  blankets, 
etc.,  and  about  thirty  years  since  a  Mr.  Aiken  made  patent  saw  seta 
and  awls  in  the  old  mill.  The  Merrimack  Company  erected,  four 
years  since,  a  large  brick  mill,  where  they  make  fancy  cassimeres ; 
capital  five  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

Among  the  foremost  of  those  men  whose  career  is  intimately  con- 
nected with  the  Merrimack  River,  and  who  have  wrought  for  them- 
selves an  ample  fortune  and  a  well-merited  fame,  is  John  Nesmith, 
Esq.,  a  native  of  Londonderry,  N.  H.,  and  for  many  years  a  resi- 
dent and  one  of  the  leading  citizens  of  Lowell,  who  is  a  large  owner 
in  this  company.  There  is  scarcely  an  enterprise  of  any  magnitude 
along  the  Merrimack,  from  the  great  lake  to  tide  water,  but  is  due 
for  its  success,  often  even  its  inception,  to  the  sagacity  of  Mr. 
Nesmith.  It  is  more  than  probable  that  he  is  entitled  to  the 
credit  of  founding  the  great  manufacturing  city  of  Lawrence.  As 
early  as  1836,  Mr.  Nesmith,  in  company  with  Daniel  Saunders, 
Esq.,  had  made  purchases  of  the  land  adjacent  to  the  falls  on  either 
side  of  the  river,  and  had  secured  a  charter  for  damming.  The 
financial  revulsion  of  the  following  year,  however,  checked  the 
progress  of  this  enterprise,  and  it  was  not  until  1844  that  the  scheme 
of  Mr.  Nesmith  was  consummated.  About  this  time  he  secured  a 
renewal  of  his  former  charter,  when  the  heavy  capitalists  of  Boston 
were  induced  to  engage  in  business  here,  and  the  result  is  well 
known.  Mr.  Nesmith  formerly  owned  a  mill  at  Hooksett,  N.  H., 
which  he  sold  to  the  Amoskeag  Company,  and  at  the  time  of  the 
origin  of  the  latter  company  and  of  Manchester,  he  was  employed  to 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TKIBUTARIES.  241 

purchase  lands,  and  secured  the  first  lot  bought  by  them  on  the  east 
side  of  the  river.  To  his  view  the  "Moore  Farm"  was  the  key  to 
operations  at  Manchester ;  and  this  he  secured,  his  judgment  proving 
of  great  importance  to  complete  success.  It  was  Mr.  Nesmith  who 
first  conceived  the  project  of  securing  rights  on  Lake  Winnipesaukee, 
and  the  feasibility  of  providing  artificial  means  to  draw  from  it  in  dry 
seasons.  When  he  suggested  the  idea  to  the  manufacturers  along 
the  river,  it  met  with  so  little  attention  that  he,  fully  appreciating 
the  value  of  such  a  great  reservoir,  went  on  and  bought  the  right  to 
control  the  lake  on  his  own  account,  and  it  was  only  a  short  time 
before  the  companies  were  anxious  to  purchase  Mr.  Nesmith's  claim 
at  a  handsome  premium,  when  they  completed  the  means  of  reducing 
the  lake  several  feet  in  the  event  of  a  short  supply  of  water  occur- 
ring, which  was  exactly  Mr.  Nesmith's  idea.  In  1831,  Mr.  Nesmith 
made  Lowell  his  permanent  residence,  purchasing  the  Livermore 
estate  (about  one  hundred  and  thirty  acres),  which  he  laid  out  and 
sold  for  building-lots,  realizing  thereon  a  gratifying  advance.  Mr. 
Nesmith  has  never  known,  or  sought  to  know,  the  sensations  or  emo- 
tions of  idleness,  and  for  the  past  forty  years  has  been  constantly 
and  actively  engaged  in  manufacturing  operations,  —  in  cotton, 
worsted,  flax,  printing  cloths,  etc.,  etc.,  nearly  through  the  list  of 
textiles.  For  many  years  he  has  been  an  extensive  owner  of  stock  in 
the  Merrimack  Company,  as  well  as  in -other  corporations  in  Lowell 
and  Lawrence,  banks,  shipping,  etc.  Mr.  Nesmith  has  made  valuable 
contributions,  both  in  money  and  intellect,  to  the  perfecting  of  im- 
provements in  machinery,  some  of  them  of  great  importance,  and  has 
also  been  ever  prompt  with  his  ample  means  in  advancing  any  object 
of  interest  that  would  tend  to  enhance  the  growth  or  prosperity  of 
the  city  of  his  adoption,  —  ready  to  contribute  to  all  charitable  'and 
worthy  purposes  the  full  and  ample  measure  of  his  bounty.  Al- 
though an  octogenarian,  he  is  still  clear-headed,  vigorous,  and  mas- 
culine in  intellect,  and  retains  a  remarkable  physical  elasticity. 
Never  having  had  time  for  that  purpose,  he  has  kept  aloof  from  ac- 
tive politics,  except  when  called  by  the  voice  of  his  fellow-citizens,  to 
which  he  has  felt  it  his  duty  to'  respond.  He  has  held  many  respon- 
sible positions,  among  others  the  office  of  lieutenant-governor,  and 
is  at  the  present  time  Collector  of  Internal  Revenue  for  the  Lowell 

District. 

31 


242  THE  MEREIMACK  EIVER; 


CHAPTER    X. 

Pawtucket  Falls. — Indians.  —  Canals. — Lowell.  —  History  of  Manufactures  on  th«  Mer- 
rimack.  —  The  Concord  Eiver.  —  Its  History.  —  History  of  its  Manufactures. 

"THE  Indians  in  this  neighborhood  were  sometimes  called  Paw- 
tuckets,  from  the  falls  in  the  Merrimack  of  that  name.  Pawtucket 
means  the  forks,  being  derived  from  the  Indian  word  pohchatuk  (a 
branch).  Pawtucket  seems,  however,  to  have  been  applied  by  the 
English  rather  to  all  the  Indians  north  of  the  Merrimack,  than  to 
the  particular  tribe  at  the  falls  of  that  name." 

When  the  constantly  increasing  tide  of  population  had  rolled  back 
from  the  original  sea-girt  colony,  they  found  at  the  Pawtucket  Falls. 
in  the  town  which  was  afterwards  called  Chelmsford,  the  head-quar- 
ters of  a  tribe  of  the  confederated  Pennacooks,  with  Passaconnaway  as 
the  sagamon.  Then,  as  now,  it  contained  a  large  community,  was  a 
place  of  great  note  and  importance,  supplied  the  community  with 
sustenance  ;  then,  as  now,  derived  its  importance  solely  and  entirely 
from  these  falls.  This  was  one  of  the  three  great  principal  fishing- 
places  on  the  Merrimack,  belonging  exclusively  to  the  confederacy 
which  was  under  the  rule  of  a  wise  and  sagacious  chief. 

In  1660,  Passaconnaway,  having  Breached  the  venerable  age  of 
more  than  fourscore  years,  appointed  a  day  for  the  assembling  of  all 
the  subordinate  chiefs  and  principal  men  of  the  tribes  of  the  Penna- 
cooks, 'or  Pawtuckets,  as  they  were  generally  called  by  the  English, 
for  the  purpose,  voluntarily  and  deliberately  formed,  of  abdicating 
in  favor  of  his  son  Wonnalancet,  which  he  did  in  the  following 
speech,  sometimes  called  his  "dying  speech;  "  but,  as  he  was  alive 
some  years  after,  it  may  be  more  properly  called  his  "  farewell 
address  "  to  his  people  :  — 

"  Hearken,"  said  he,  "  to  the  words  of  your  father.  I  am  an  old 
oak  that  has  withstood  the  storms  of  more  than  one  hundred  winters. 
Leaves  and  branches  have  been  stripped  from  me  by  winds  and  frosts; 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  24& 

my  eyes  are  dim,  my  limbs  totter,  —  I  must  soon  fall !  But  when 
young  and  sturdy ;  when  my  bow,  —  no  young  man  of  the  Pennacooka 
could  bend  it,  —  when  my  arrows  would  pierce  a  deer  at  a  "hundred 
yards,  and  I  could  bury  my  hatchet  in  a  sapling  to  the  eye  ;  no  wig- 
wam had  so  many  furs,  no  pole  so  many  scalp-locks  as  Passaconna- 
way's  !  Then,  I  delighted  in  war.  The  whoop  of  the  Pennacooks 
was  heard  upon  the  Mohawk,  and  no  voice  so  loud  as  Passaconna- 
way's  !  The  scalps  upon  the  pole  in  my  wigwam  told  the  story  of 
Mohawk  suffering  !  The  English  came  ;  they  seized  our  lands ;  I 
sat  me  down  at  Pennacook.  They  followed  upon  my  footsteps.  I 
made  war  upon  them,  but  they  fought  with  fire  and  thunder ;  my 
young  men  were  swept  down  before  me  when  no  one  was  near  them. 
I  tried  sorcery  against  them ;  but  still  they  increased,  and  prevailed 
over  me  and  mine,  and  I  gave  place  to  them  and  retired  to  my  beau- 
tiful island  of  Natticook.  I  that  can  make  the  dry  leaf  turn  green 
and  live  again,  —  I,  that  can  take  the  rattlesnake  in  my  palm  as  I 
would  a  worm,  without  harm,  —  I,  who  have  had  communication 
with  the  Great  Spirit,  dreaming  and  awake,  —  I  am  powerless  before 
the  pale-faces.  The  oak  will  soon  break  before  the  whirlwind;  it 
shivers  and  shakes  even  now  ;  soon  its  trunk  will  be  prostrate ;  the 
ant  and  the  worm  will  sport  upon  it !  Then  think,  my  children, 
of  what  I  say.  I  commune  with  the  Great  Spirit.  He  whispers 
me  now  :  — 

'"Tell  your  people,  peace,  peace  is  the  only  hope  of  your  race.  I 
have  given  fire  and  thunder  to  the  pale-faces  for  weapons.  I  have 
made  them  plentier  than  the  leaves  of  the  forest,  and  still  shall  they 
increase  !  These  meadows  they  shall  turn  with  the  plough  ;  these 
forests  shall  fall  by  the  axe;  the  pale-faces  shall  live  upon  your 
hunting-grounds,  and  make  their  villages  upon  your  fishing-places.' 
The  Great  Spirit  says  this,  and  it  must  be  so !  We  are  few  and 
powerless  before  them !  We  must  bend  before  the  storm !  The 
wind  blows  hard  !  The  old  oak  trembles  !  Its  branches  are  gone  ! 
Its  sap  is  frozen !  It  bends  !  It  falls !  Peace,  peace  with  the 
white  men,  is  the  command  of  the  Great  Spirit,  and  the  wish  —  the 
last  wish  —  of  Passaconnaway." 

Wonnalancet  now  assumed  the  chieftaincy,  and,  though  he  united 
the  wisdom  of  his  father  with  the  virtues  of  a  Christian  prince,  and 
uniformly  displayed  those  higher  and  nobler  traits  of  character 


244  TEE  MEREIMACK  EIVEE; 

worthy  of  emulation,  the  doom  of  his  people  was  even  then  foreshad- 
owed; indeed,  the  "beginning  of  the  end"  was  apparent.  After  a 
sickly  existence  of  a  few  years,  meeting  with  unexpected  cruelty  and 
ill-treatment  from  those  whose  superior  enlightenment  and  Christian 
pretensions  he  had  been  taught  by  the  Apostle  Eliot  to  respect  and 
confide  in,  and  being  broken  and  decimated  in  numbers  and  spirit, 
Wonnalancet  Retired  with  the  remnant  of  his  tribes  to  the  St.  Fran- 
cis, were  merged  with  that  people,  and  there  ended  his  days. 

"Wonnalancet"  means  literally  "breathing  pleasantly  "  wonne 
or  wunne  (pleasant)  and  nangshonat  (to  breathe),  and  was  the 
name  given  him  after  he  had  come  to  manhood,  when  his  character 
was  considered  as  formed,  — a  name  peculiarly  appropriate  as  well 
as  beautiful,  as  his  great  wisdom  and  Christian  virtues  "breathed 
pleasantly  "  on  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact,  and  over  all  by 
whom  he  was  surrounded. 

The  subjugation  of  the  Indians  generally  signified  not  only  their 
reduction  to  submission,  but  banishment  from  the  soil,  and  when  this 
was  not  the  result,  some  worthless  or  out-of-the-way  portion  of  their 
own  lands  was  kindly  set  off  for  their  occupation  and  exclusive  use. 

The  densely  populated  part  of  the  present  city  of  Lowell  was  thus 
set  off  as  an  Indian  reservation.  Its  boundary  on  one  side  was  the 
Merrimack  River,  and  on  the  other  a  ditch  extending  from  a  point 
some  distance  above  the  Pawtucket  Falls  to  the  foot  of  Hunt's 
Falls. 

When  Chelmsford  was  first  incorporated,  this  reservation  was  in 
the  eastern  portion  of  the  town,  and  after  the  departure  of  the  In- 
dians this  territory  was  ' '  squatted ' '  upon  by  adventurous  whites,  who 
were  disfranchised  and  refused  representation  in  the  General  Court. 
Whereupon  they  retorted  by  politely  but  firmly  refusing  to  pay 
any  taxes,  which  brought  the  matter  to  a  solution  by  annexation  to 
Chelmsford  by  act  of  the  Legislature. 

It  appears  that  the  early  settlers  and  their  officials,  misled  by  the 
course  pursued  by  the  Merrimack  for  thirty  or  forty  miles  before 
reaching  the  ocean,  had  adopted  the  erroneous  conclusion  that  its 
course  was  east  and  west ;  at  least  this  is  the  natural  inference  de- 
duced from  documents  of  the  time,  official  and  unofficial.  The  claim 
of  Massachusetts  was  to  a  point  three  miles  north  of  the  most  extreme 
northerly  point  of  the  Merrimack  River,  and,  to  establish  perina- 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TEIBUT ARIES.  24& 

nentlj  her  boundary  and  extend  her  jurisdiction,  a  commission  was 
appointed  to  perambulate,  define,  and  properly  indicate  the  line  to 
which  she  laid  claim.  This  commission  consisted  of  Edward  John- 
son and  Simon  Willard,  who,  in  the  discharge  of  this  duty,  deter- 
mined the  •  outlet  of  Winnipesaukee  Lake  to  be  the  point  indicated 
in  the  claim  of  Massachusetts.  The  Endicott  Rock,  at  the  Weirs, 
was  marked  by  the  commission  as  follows :  — 

El  SW 

WP     IOHN 

ENDICVT 

GOV. 

This  extraordinary  presumption  on  the  part  of  Massachusetts  pro- 
duced a  long  and  acrimonious  controversy  between  the  two  States, 
the  absurd  claim  of  Massachusetts  being  resisted  with  determination 
and  success. 

"  Charles  I.,  in  the  fourth  year  of  his  reign,  by  letters  patent, 
confirmed  a  grant  by  the  Council  of  Plymouth  to  certain  persons  of  a 
territory  thus  described,  namely :  '  All  that  part  of  New  England,  ii]t 
America,  which  lies  and  extends  between  a  great  river  that  is  com- 
monly called  Monomack,  alias  Merrimack,'  etc."  * 

"  The  Merrimack  River  was  an  important  boundary  in  the  early 
times  of  New  England ;  and  it  is  accordingly  frequently  mentioned 
in  documents  of  the  times.  There  seems,  however,  to  have  been  no 
uniformity  in  the  spelling.  Sometimes,  we  find  several  modes  in  the 
same  document.  The  modern  form  has  good  authority,  being  em- 
phatically the  '  King's  English.'  The  following  twenty  modes  of 
spelling  I  have  met  with  in  a  very  limited  search ;  no  doubt  many 
others  might  be  added :  — 

Malamake.  Merremeck. 

Maremake.  Merrimac. 

Meremack.  Merriraach. 

Meremacke.  Merrimack. 

Meremak.  Merrimak. 

Merimacke.  Merrimeek. 

Mermak.  Merrytnacke. 

Merramack.  Monnomacke. 

Merramacke.  Monomack. 

Mcrremacke.  Monumach.  f 

*  Belknap's  History  of  Now  Hampshire,  App.  t  James  B.  Francis,  Esq. 


246  THE  MEItKIMACK 

The  period  extending  from  1790  to  1825  may  very  properly  be 
called  the  era  of  canals.  As  there  were  no  railroads  in  those  days, 
this  was  regarded  as  the  most  expeditious  and  economical  mode  of 
transporting  heavy  merchandise,  and  canal  schemes  were  as  numer- 
ous as  railroad  enterprises  at  a  later  day.  Canals  for  manufacturing 
purposes  were  constructed  around  many  of  the  great  water-powers, 
and  internal  improvements  were  projected  on  a  magnificent  scale ; 
but  the  Middlesex  Canal  was  the  most  important  of  any  which  were 
completed,  and,  with  the  many  others  along  the  course  of  the  Merri- 
mack  to  facilitate  its  navigation,  was  of  the  greatest  consequence  to 
the  business  interests  from  Concord  to  Boston.  It  may  not,  how- 
ever, be  generally  known  that  a  vast  canal  scheme,  in  connection 
with  this,  was  in  contemplation  at  one  time,  and  surveys  were  actually 
made  for  a  line  extending  westward.  Lake  Winnipesaukee  was  to  be 
the  base,  and,  connecting  there  with  the  Merrimack  River  and  Mid- 
dlesex Canal  to  Boston,  it  was  to  extend  west  by  an  elaborate  system 
of  locking,  and  ultimately  intersect  with  the  New  York  State  canals. 
But  it  is  probable  that  the  great  project  of  the  Manchester  and  Liv- 
erpool Railway,  chimerical  as  it  might,  and  probably  did,  appear,  had 
the  effect  to  suspend  operations  on  this  canal  until  the  result  of  this 
new-idea  experiment  of  railroads  and  locomotive  power  had  been 
tested.  Still  the  Merrimack,  aided  by  the  canals  around  its  falls  and 
the  Middlesex  Canal,  continued  to  do  a  heavy  transportation  business 
until  the  railroad  was  demonstrated  to  be  a  success,  when,  like  all 
other  obsolete  or  old  fogy  institutions,  it  gave  way  to  the  progress 
of  the  age. 

In  the  navigation  of  the  river  and  auxiliary  canals,  the  family  of 
Tylers  bore  an  important  and  conspicuous  part,  and  are  historically 
connected  with  the  river  and  with  Lowell.  Mr.  Nathan  Tyler  owned 
nearly  all  the  land  from  the  head  of  the  old  Pawtucket,  or  Naviga- 
tion Canal,  to  the  Merrimack,  and  as  far  down  as  the  mouth  of  the 
Concord,  the  manufacturing  companies  making  their  first  land  pur- 
chase of  him.  His  sons,  Jonathan,  Silas,  Nathan,  and  Ignatius, 
were  born  near  the  foot  of  Pawtucket  Falls,  where  their  father  re- 
sided and  carried  on  a  saw  and  grist  mill,  which  were  swept  away  by 
the  great  freshet.  Mr.  Joseph  Warren  was  the  first  superintendent 
of  the  Pawtucket  Canal,  and  at  his  death  Mr.  Jonathan  Tyler  was 
appointed,  and  had  charge  of  it  until  it  came  into  the  possession  of 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  247 

the  Land  and  "Water  Power  Company.  Mr.  Silas  Tyler  followed  the 
Merrimack  man j  years  as  pilot,  and  was  connected  with  the  Middlesex 
Canal  for  twenty  years,  being  for  seven  years  captain  of  packet-boat 
Gov.  Sullivan,  and  at  the  opening  of  the  Boston  and  Lowell  Railroad 
and  the  consequent  abandonment  of  canal  navigation,  about  1835,  of 
course  his  connection  with  it  terminated.  Mr.  Tyler  was  of  opinion 
that,  with  an  enlargement  of  twenty  feet  in  width  and  three  in  depth, 
this  canal  could  have  successfully  competed  with  the  railroad,  as  one 
horse  could  then  haul  sixty  tons  of  freight  from  Lowell  to  Boston. 
Mr.  Ignatius  Tyler  has  had  an  uninterrupted  connection  with  the 
Merrimack  and  canals  from  his  youth  to  within  a  few  years,  and  was 
for  a  long  time  engaged  in  the  lumber  trade  at  Lowell,  but  for  seven 
or  eight  years  past  his  operations  have  been  confined  to  streams 
whose  sources  are  in  the  Provinces.  When  the  steamboat  enterprise 
on  the  Merrimack  was  started  by  Messrs.  Bradley,  Stone,  and  oth- 
ers, he  was  captain  of  the  fine  little  freight  and  passenger  steamer 
that  plied  between  Lowell  and  Nashua,  and  for  some  years  managed 
an  immense  carrying  trade,  via  the  river  and  Middlesex  Canal,  be- 
tween Concord  and  all  Northern  New  Hampshire  and  Boston.  He 
was,  like  his  brother,  long  connected  with  the  Middlesex  Canal,  and 
his  employment  on  the  river  gave  him  a  familiarity  with  all  the  ca- 
nals around  the  falls  above  Lowell.  In  1814,  the  first  packet-boat 
passed  through  the  canal  from  Boston  to  Concord,  N.  H.,  and  in 
1819  the  first  steamboat  from  Boston  reached  Concord;  and  a  boat 
of  thirty  tons  has  even  gone  as  far  up  as  the  foot  of  Webster's  Falls, 
in  Franklin,  the  forks  of  the  Merrimack. 

A  prominent  feature  of  the  business  of  Lowell  has  been  its  im- 
mense lumber  trade.  Previous  to  the  construction  of  these  canals, 
the  lumber  coming  down  the  river  was  landed  and  hauled  around  the 
falls  to  the  basin  below,  which  was  done  by  the  splendid  ox-teams 
of  neighboring  farmers  ;  conspicuous  among  these  the  old  residents 
do  not  forget  those  of  Joel  and  Jonathan  Spaulding.  Beaver  River 
was  also  a  convenient  harbor,  and  in  the  season  was  filled  with  rafts 
as  far  back  as  the  "  Navy  Yard."  Those  going  via  canal  to  Boston 
were  also  hauled  by  oxen,  one  pair  hauling  as  many  as  sixty  shooks 
of  rafts.  After  the  Pawtucket  Canal  was  made,  this  method  of 
shipment  around  the  falls  was  dispensed  with,  but  the  lumber  trade 
was  not,  and  for  many  years  as  many  as  ten  million  feet  of  lumber 


248  THE  MEKR1MACK  KIVER; 

have  been  brought  down  from  northern  New  Hampshire  by  the  cur- 
rent of  this  beautiful  river,  and  find  a  port  of  entry  here.  Besides 
the  lumbering  carried  on  in  the  early  days  of  Lowell,  it  was,  like  all 
the  other  great  falls  along  the  Merrimack,  an  important  fishing- 
place.  If  the  savages  gathered  at  this  spot  for  the  annual  fishing- 
festival,  to  secure  the  food  on  which  they  mainly  depended,  the  pale- 
faces subsequently  flocked  here  with  no  less  eagerness,  and  the  scenes 
enacted  by  them  would  do  no  discredit  to  the  barbaric  orgies  of  a 
prior  date.  The  fishing  was  by  law  confined  to  three  days  each 
week  on  the  Merrimack  and  two  on  the  Concord,  and  officials,  known 
as  "  fish-wards  "  were  appointed  to  enforce  the  law.  On  the  lawful 
days  scores  of  teams  of  every  description,  with  drivers  in  picturesque 
and  ludicrous  costumes,  came  pouring  in  from  all  directions,  eager  to 
fill  their  carts  for  their  own  use,  and  for  peddling  about  their  neigh- 
borhood. The  old  fish-house,  in  architecture  unlike  any  other  build- 
ing, with  its  strange  surroundings,  its  antiquated  odor  of  fish,  and 
an  exhilarating  effluvia  of  Old  Medford,  mingled  with  the  fumes  of 
questionable  tobacco,  made  it  compare  favorably  with  Coleridge's 
description  of  the  city  of  Cologne,  while  added  to  this  was  the 
motley  group  of  teams,  the  busy  lumbermen,  the  excited  fishermen 
dressed  for  the  occasion,  cursing,  fighting,  and  plying  their  vocation, 
and  crowds  of  spectators  enjoying  the  fun  intensely,  made  up  a  scene 
•which  cannot  be  described  or  forgotten  by  those  who  witnessed  it. 
At  the  same  time  the  tavern  and  the  store  were  doing  a  thriving 
business,  and  all  classes  of  trade  received  a  share  of  the  profits  of 
the  fisheries.  The  leading  tavern  was  kept  by  Joseph  Warren,  and 
after  him  Jonathan  Tyler,  who  with  his  wife  still  lives  in  Lowell  in 
the  enjoyment  of  plenty  and  excelle'nt  health.  This  tavern  was  located 
on  the  spot  where  the  American  House  now  stands.  The  principal 
store  was  kept  by  Phineas  Whiting,  and  was  on  the  site  of  the  ele- 
gant residence  of  Frederick  Ayer,  Esq.  It  may  not  be  supposed 
that  fishing  was  altogether  confined  to  legitimate  days;  on  the 
contrary,  though  perhaps  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  the  officials 
busy  and  zealous  in  the  discharge  of  their  duties,  attempts  were  con- 
stantly made  at  surreptitious  fishing  and  violation  of  law,  which, 
however,  generally  involved  no  more  serious  consequences  than 
bloody  noses,  and  the  engendering  of  irritation  and  ill-feeling  be- 
tween the  officials  and  the  fishermen.  The  fish  clandestinely 


ITS  SOUECE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  248 

obtained  seemed  to  possess  a  peculiar  flavor,  or  possibly  the  sport  was 
so  attractive  to  many  that  legal  restraint  was  impossible.  On  one 
occasion,  as  the  disciples  of  Walton  were  plying  an  unlawful  business 
on  Long  Island  (opposite  the  Lawrence  corporation),  an  obnoxious 
and  officious  official  from  Haverhill  (named  Vincent),  with  his  posse, 
pounced  upon  them,  and  the  scene  that  ensued  may  be  imagined. 
Donneybrook  was  outdone,  the  official  and  his  party  were  repeatedly 
fished  out  of  the  river,  after  unceremonious  baptisms  by  the  faithful, 
and  soon  as  possible  beat  a  precipitate  retreat  without  making  any 
arrests,  but  with  a  wholesome  lesson  in  prudence  to  guide  them  in 
the  future  enforcement  of  obnoxious  laws.  It  may  be  thought  that 
these  exciting  and  turbulent  scenes  were  not  exactly  calculated  to 
cultivate  the  pillars  of  a  future  community ;  but  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  the  actors  were  more  than  half  a  century  behind  this  en- 
lightened era ;  that  fishing,  as  practised  then,  is  now  unknown ;  and 
above  all,  that  every  man  knew  his  rights,  "  and  knowing  dared  main- 
tain" them  against  all  comers,  standing  more  on  this  point  than  ajiy 
particular  method  or  delicacy  in  the  manner  of  their  security. 
Many  of  the  oldest  of  the  native  population  of  Lowell,  not  only  re- 
tain a  vivid  recollection  of  these  scenes,  but  were  prominent  actors 
in  them,  and  those  who  would  bewail  what  they  choose  to  term  the 
demoralizing  tendency  of  these  disorderly  gatherings  may  see,  in  the 
character  of  the  old  citizens  of  Lowell,  men  of  mark  and  stern 
virtue,  strict  integrity,  great  business  capacity,  position  and  influ- 
ence, a  very  clear  and  conclusive  refutation  of  their  erroneous  con- 
clusions. The  family  of  Tylers,  as  a  sample  of  the  men  of  Paw- 
tucket  anterior  to  the  origin  of  Lowell,  exhibit  the  quality  of 
humanity  indigenous  to  the  soil.  For  three  generations  the  Tylers 
of  Lowell  have  been  intimately  connected  with  the  Merrimack  and 
its  canals  ;  in  their  younger  days,  in  the  lively  times  of  Earl  Chelms- 
ford,  as  fishermen,  lumbermen,  and  boatmen ;  and  in  maturer  years 
in  many  high  positions  of  responsibility  and  trust ;  and  for  moral 
worth,  they  have  had  no  superiors,  and  no  native  or  adopted  citizens 
of  Lowell  have  made  a  fairer  record  than  they,  in  all  the  attributes 
of  an  honorable  and  manly  character. 

The  first  canal  constructed  around  Pawtucket  Falls  was  to  facili- 
tate the  navigation  of  the  Merrimack.     This  was  in  the  year  1792. 
In  1793  the  Middlesex  Canal,  connecting  this  river  with  Boston, 
32 


250  THE  MEREIMACK  EIVEE  ; 

was  commenced,  and  its  completion  rendered  the  stock  of  the  Navi- 
gation Canal  valueless ;  but  in  the  year  1822  it  was  enlarged  for 
manufacturing  purposes.  The  Merrimack  and  Hamilton  Canals 
were  commenced  in  the  same  year.  The  Western  Canal  was  com- 
menced early  in  1828,  and  the  Eastern  Canal  was  built  in  1835. 
The  Underground  (or  Moody  Street)  Canal  —  one-fourth  of  a  mile 
long  —  was  constructed  in  1848.  The  Northern  Canal  was  built 
in  1846— T,  and  is  one  mile  in  length,  one  hundred  feet  wide,  and 
sixteen  feet  deep.  This  canal  was  designed  to  .reduce  the  current, 
which  was  found  to  be  inconveniently  strong  in  the  other  canals, 
while  at  the  same  time  it  gave  two  feet  more  ' '  head ' '  to  some  of 
the  mills.  The  total  united  length  of  the  Lowell  canals  is  above 
five  miles.  The  dam  at  Pawtucket  Falls  —  a  substantial  stone  struc- 
ture—  was  built  in  1825.  The  perpetual  power  at  this  point  of 
the  river  is  ten  thousand  horse-power,  while  the  great  companies 
along  the  lower  Merrimack  maintain  a  reserve  of  more  than  one  hun- 
dred miles  of  surface  in  the  great  reservoirs  in  Northern  New 
Hampshire,  which  they  can  reduce,  by  artificial  arrangements,  to  the 
depth  of  several  feet,  and  thus  increase  the  natural  and  enormous 
power  of  the  river  at  pleasure.  The  perpendicular  fall  is  thirty-four 
feet ;  that  of  Hunt's  Falls  —  two  miles  below  —  is  ten  feet,  but  is 
not,  at  present,  considered  available  for  manufacturing  purposes. 

If  aboriginal  history  and  Indian  customs  give  interest  to  this 
river,  with  how  much  more  does  civilization  and  well-directed  intel- 
ligence invest  it !  Any  one  who  reads  the  history  of  Lowell,  espe- 
cially its  early  history,  must  feel  a  glow  of  pride,  if  he  reads  with 
attention  the  sketches  of  the  character  of  its  founders  as  a  manufac- 
turing city,  which,  to  be  complete,  such  a  work  must  contain.  That 
the  idea  of  applying  the  water  of  the  Merrimack  River,  at  this  place, 
to  mechanical  and  manufacturing  purposes  to  the  extent  and  magni- 
tude with  which  it  was  applied,  and  so  successfully,  too,  shows  un- 
common foresight  and  judgment  in  those  persons  who  conceived  and 
carried  into  execution  the  great  plan.  From  the  first  moment  of  the 
conception  of  the  great  scheme  of  building  up  a  manufacturing  city 
at  these  falls  no  element  of  character  seemed  wanting  to  ensure  suc- 
cess. Patrick  T.  Jackson,  Kirk  Boott,  Nathan  Appleton,  Francis 
Cabot  Lowell,  and  their  coworkers  were  emphatically  the  founders 
of  Lowell.  They  were  not  merely  builders,  but  designers.  They 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TSIBUTARIES.  251 

had  no  model  either  for  mills,  machinery,  or  organized  system  for 
the  practical  and  profitable  application  of  capital  and  labor  to  manu-» 
facturing  purposes.  That  men  of  good  judgment,  of  great  mechan- 
ical genius  and  skill,  have,  from  the  first,  controlled  the  operations 
of  this  vast  manufactory,  the  beautiful  and  substantial  appearance  of 
the  mills  and  dwellings,  and  the  gratifying  average  rate  of  dividends 
bear  ample  testimony.  Perhaps  as  striking  an  instance  of  foresight, 
or  the  application  of  knowledge  to  a  good  result,  as  can  be  named  in 
the  history  of  Lowell,  occurred  in  the  management  of  the  affairs  of 
the  "Proprietors  of  the  Locks  and  Canals, ';  by  James  B.  Francis, 
Esq.,  the  present  chief  engineer  of  this  company,  a  gentleman  who 
has  occupied  this  position  for  the  past  twenty-three  years,  and  an 
employe  of  the  same  company  for  the  past  thirty-four  years  1 
When  the  old  canal  was  enlarged  for  manufacturing  purposes,  and 
the  "guard  locks"  built,  the  engineer  (Mr.  Lewis),  with  P.  T. 
Jackson,  Esq.,  and  associates,  concluded  that  the  height  at  which 
they  established  them  was  sufficient  to  guard  against  any  rise  of 
water  that  should  ever  take  place,  (judging  from  data  which  they 
obtained  from  old  men  living  in  the  neighborhood,  and  from  "  water 
marks  "  which  remained  of  former  floods).  At  the  time  of  building 
the  new  (or  Northern)  Canal  (1847-8),  it  occurred  to  the  agent 
of  the  Water-Power  Company  (Mr.  Francis),  that  as  the  height  of 
the  locks  was  established  to  correspond  with  the  water  of  the  river 
before  the  river-dam  was  built,  they  were  no  protection  to  a  portion 
of  the  city  below  them  in  case  a  freshet  should  occur  as  high  as  the 
memorable  one  of  1785,  which  was  the  greatest  ever  known  on  the 
Merrimack  since  the  English  settled  on  its  borders.  His  reasoning 
was,  "  what  has  happened,  may  happen  again."  Knowing  only 
what  the  former  engineers  and  agents  knew,  but  excelling  them  all 
in  the  application  of  his  knowledge,  he  caused  an  embankment  to 
be  constructed,  six  feet  in  height,  composed  of  masonry  and  earth, 
and  extending  on  either  side,  like  a  massive  brace,  to  the  high  land, 
some  twenty  rods  to  the  rear  of  the  gateway.  Over  the  canal, 
through  which  the  boats  and  rafts  must  pass,  he  also  caused  a  huge 
gate  to  be  suspended  by  an  iron  ring  or  clasp,  and  gave  instructions 
to  the  "keeper"  of  the  locks,  that  if  the  water  should  ever  rise 
to  a  certain  point  to  "send  for  him,  and  begin  with  hammer  and 
ehisel  to  sever  the  clasp  that  held  the  gate."  In  1853  occurred  the 


252  THE  MEEEIMACK  EIVEE; 

second  memorable  freshet,  which  proved  the  wisdom  of  his  action : 
the  water  rose  to  the  point  he  had  indicated ;  the  "  keeper  "  sent  for 
him  as  directed,  and,  with  hammer  and  chisel,  the  gate  was  dropped 
into  position,  thus  averting  a  catastrophe  to  the  city,  the  consequences 
of  which  it  is  unpleasant  to  speculate  upon.  Many  of  the  leading 
citizens,  headed  by  J.  B.  French,  Esq.,  desiring  to  testify  in  some 
tangible  form  their  appreciation  of  his  wise  forecast,  procured  a  testi- 
monial, suitably  inscribed,  which  they  presented  to  Mr.  Francis.  In 
making  the  necessary  excavations  for  the  canal  at  Lowell  the  most 
indubitable  evidence  is  said  to  have  been  presented  of  an  important 
change  in  the  course  of  the  river.  Geological  indications  pointed 
unmistakably  to  the  fact  that  at  some  remote  period  in  the  past  the 
waters  of  the  Merrimack  were  discharged  into  the  ocean  at  a  point 
not  ten  miles  below  Boston ;  the  peculiar  stratification,  the  boulder 
bed,  and  the  many  marks  of  attrition  seemed  conclusive  proof  of 
this  fact. 

Nothing  can  prove  more  interesting  to  those  who  would  obtain 
correct  information  concerning  the  city  of  Lowell  than  the  excel- 
lent work  of  Hon.  Nathan  Appleton,  entitled,  "  Introduction  of  the 
Power  Loom,  and  Origin  of  Lowell,"  extracts  from  which  are  here 
presented :  — 

"At  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Charles  H.  Atherton,  of  Amherst, 
N.  H.,  we  met  him  at  a  fall  of  the  Souhegan  River,  a  few  miles 
from  its  entrance  into  the  Merrimack,  but  the  power  was  insufficient 
for  our  purpose.  This  was  in  September,  1821.  In  returning  we 
passed  the  Nashua  River,  without  being  aware  of  the  existence  of 
the  fall,  which  has  since  been  made  the  source  of  so  much  power  by 
the  Nashua  Company.  We  only  saw  a  small  grist-mill  standing 
near  the  road,  in  the  meadow,  with  a  dam  of  some  six  or  seven  feet. 
Soon  after  our  return  I  was  at  Waltham  one  day,  when  I  was  in- 
formed that  Mr.  Moody  had  lately  been  at  Salisbury,  when  Mr. 
Ezra  Worthen,  his  former  partner,  said  to  him,  '  I  hear  Messrs. 
Jackson  &  Appleton  are  looking  out  for  water-power ;  why  don't 
they  buy  up  the  Pawtucket  Canal  ?  That  would  give  them  the 
whole  power  of  the  Merrimack,  with  a  fall  of  over  thirty  feet. '  On 
the  strength  of  this,  Mr.  Moody  had  returned  to  Waltham  by  that 
route,  and  was  satisfied  of  the  extent  of  the  power  which  might  be 
thus  obtained." "  Our  first  visit  to  the  spot  was  in 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  253 

the  month  of  November,  1821,  and  a  slight  snow  covered  the  ground. 
The  party  consisted  of  Patrick  T.  Jackson,  Kirk  Boott,  Warren 
Dutton,  Paul  Moody,  John  W.  Boott,  and  myself.  We  perambu- 
lated the  grounds,  and  scanned  the  capabilities  of  the  place,  and  the 
remark  was  made  that  some  of  us  might  live  to  see  the  place  con- 
tain twenty  thousand  inhabitants.  At  that  time  there  were,  I  think, 
less  than  a  dozen  houses  on  what  now  constitutes  the  city  of  Lowell, 
or  rather  the  thickly  settled  parts  of  it:  that  of  Nathan  Tyler, 
near  the  corner  of  Merrimack  and  Bridge  Streets ;  that  of  Josiah 
Fletcher,  near  the  Boott  Mills;  the  house  and  store  of  Phineas 
Whiting,  near  Pawtucket  Bridge ;  the  house  of  Mrs.  Warren,  near 
what  is  now  Warren  Street ;  the  house  of  Judge  Livermore  (Ed- 
ward St.  Low),  east  of  Concord  River,  then  called  Belvidere,  and  a 
few  others.  Formal  articles  of  association  were  drawn  up,  bearing 
date  the  1st  of  December,  1821.  They  are  recorded  in  the  records 

of  the  Merrimack  Manufacturing  Company." "An 

act  of  incorporation  was  granted  5th  of  February,  1822." 
.  .  .  .  "In  December,  1822,  Messrs.  Jackson  &  Boott  were 
appointed  a  committee  to  build  a  suitable  church ;  and  in  April, 
1824,  it  was  voted  that  it  should  be  built  of  stone,  not  to  exceed  a 
cost  of  nine  thousand  dollars.  This  was  called  St.  Anne's  Church, 
in  which  Mr.  Boott,  being  himself  an  Episcopalian,  was  desirous  of 
trying  the  experiment  whether  that  service  could  be  sustained.  It 
was  dedicated  by  Bishop  Griswold."  ....  "  The  first  wheel 
of  the  Merrimack  Company  was  set  in  motion  on  the  1st  of  Sep- 
tember, 1823.  In  1825,  five  hundred  dollars  were  appropriated  for 
a  library.  Three  additional  mills  were  built.  In  1829,  one  mill 
was  burnt" down;  in  1853,  another.  In  1825,  Mr.  Dutton,  going 
to  Europe,  Nathan  Appleton  was  appointed  president.  The  first 
dividend  of  one  hundred  dollars  per  share  was  made  in  1825.  They 
have  been  regularly  continued,  with  few  exceptions,  averaging  some- 
thing over  twelve  per  cent,  per  annum  to  the  present  time."  . 
.  .  .  "  At  the  annual  meeting  at  Chelmsford,  May  21, 1823,  the 
directors  were  authorized  to  petition  for  an  increase  of  capital  to 
one  million  two  hundred  thousand  dollars;  and,  on  the  19th  of 
October,  1824,  a  new  subscription  of  six  hundred  shares  was  voted, 
md  a  committee  appointed  to  consider  the  expediency  of  organizing 
the  Canal  Company,  by  selling  them  all  the  land  and  water  power 


254  THE  MERRIJICK  RIVER; 

not  required  bj  the  Merrimack  Manufacturing  Company.  This 
committee  reported  on  the  28th  of  February,  1825,  in  favor  of  the 
measure,  which  was  adopted ;  and  at  the  same  time  a  subscription 
was  opened,  by  which  twelve  hundred  shares  in  the  locks  and  canals 
were  allotted  to  the  holders  of  that  number  of  shares  in  the  Merri- 
mack Company,  share  for  share.  The  locks  and  canals  were  thus 
the  owners  of  all  the  land  and  water  power  in  Lowell."  .... 
"  The  first  sale  was  to  the  Hamilton  Manufacturing  Company,  in 
1825,  with  a  capital  of  six  hundred  thousand  dollars,  afterwards  in- 
creased to  one  million  two  hundred  thousand  dollars.  This  company 
secured  the  services  of  Mr.  Samuel  Batchelder  of  New  Ipswich,  who 
had  shown  much  skill  in  manufacturing  industry.  Under  his  man- 
agement the  power  loom  was  applied  to  the  weaving  of  twilled  and 
fancy  goods  with  great  success.  The  article  of  cotton  drills,  since 
become  so  important  a  commodity  in  our  foreign  trade,  was  first 
made  in  this  establishment.  The  Appleton  Company  and  the  Lowell 
Company  followed  in  1828."  .  .  .  .  "  In  1829,  a  violent 
commercial  revulsion  took  place,  both  in  Europe  and  this  country." 
"  During  this  period  of  depression,  Messrs.  Amos  and 
Abbott  Lawrence  were  induced,  by  some  tempting  reduction  in  the 
terms  made  by  the  proprietors  of  the  locks  and  canals,  to  enter 
largely  into  the  business ;  the  consequence  of  which  was  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Suffolk,  Tremont,  and  Lawrence  Companies,  in 
1830.  The  Boott  followed  in  1835;  the  Massachusetts  in  1839." 
.  .  .  .  "  In  November,  1824,  it  was  voted  to  petition  the  Leg- 
islature to  set  off  a  part  of  Chelmsford  as  a  separate  township.  The 
town  of  Lowell  was  incorporated  in  1826.  It  was  a  matter  of  some 
difficulty  to  fix  upon  a  name  for  it.  I  met  Mr.  Boott  one  day.  when 
he  said  to  me  that  the  committee  of  the  Legislature  were  ready  to 
report  the  bill.  It  only  remained  to  fill  the  blank  with  the  name. 
He  said  he  considered  the  question  narrowed  down  to  two,  —  Lowell 
or  Derby.  I  said  to  him,  '  then  Lowell  by  all  means,'  and  Lowell 
it  was.  There  was  a  particular  propriety  in  giving  it  that  name, 
not  only  from  Mr.  Francis  C.  Lowell,  who  established  the  system 
which  gave  birth  to  the  place,  but  also  from  the  interest  taken  by 
the  family.  His  son,  of  the  name,  was  for  some  time  treasurer  of 
the  Merrimack  Company.  Mr.  John  A.  Lowell,  his  nephew,  suc- 
ceeded Mr.  Jackson  as  treasurer  of  the  Waltham  Company,  and  was 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  25« 

for  many  years  treasurer  of  the  Boott  and  Massachusetts  Mills ; 
was  largely  interested,  and  a  director  in  several  other  companies." 
.  .  .  .  "In  1836,  the  municipal  government  of  Lowell  was 
changed  to  that  of  a  city."  .  .  .  .  "  The  Boston  and  Lowell 
Railroad  was  among  the  first  established  in  the  United  States.  So 
early  as  1830,  a  committee  was  appointed  on  the  subject,  and  a 
bonus  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  was  voted  by  the  Locks  and 

Canals  Company,  payable  on  its  completion." "It 

was  opened  for  travel  in  June,  1835,  earlier  than  any  other  rail- 
road in  Massachusetts,  for  its  entire  length,  and,  with  the  exception 
of  the  Camden  and  Amboy,  to  Bordentown,  in  the  United  States." 
.  .  .  .  "In  1830,  Samuel  Lawrence,  William  W.  Stone,  and 
others,  were  incorporated  as  the  Middlesex  Company,  with  a  capital 
of  five  hundred  thousand  dollars,  —  afterwards  increased  to  one 
million  dollars,  but  subsequently  reduced  to  seven  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  dollars,  —  and  engaged  in  the  manufacture  ^>f  broadcloths, 

cassimeres,"    etc "The   mismanagement   of    the 

Middlesex  Company's  affairs,  during  many  years,  was  astonishing. 
The  entire  capital  of  the  company  was  lost  through  the  mistakes  and 
irregularities  of  Samuel  Lawrence,  William  W.  Stone,  and  their 
associates.  In  1858  the  company  was  reorganized,  with  new  man- 
agers, and  a  new  subscription  of  stock.  Five  hundred  shares,  of 
the  par  value  of  one  hundred  dollars  each,  formed  the  capital  with 
which  the  Middlesex  Company  took  their  '  new  departure '  in  the 
voyage  of  life."  * 

Mistakes  !  and  irregularities  !  !  This  last  mild  term,  it  has  been 
not  inaptly  observed,  like  charity,  covers  "a  multitude  of  sins." 
When  an  unfortunate  individual,  under  the  pressure  of  the  sternest 
necessity,  appropriates  or  "  confiscates  "  a  loaf  of  bread,,  or  a  bun- 
dle of  fagots,  the  atrocious  !  crime  is  not  only  characterized  in  the 
plainest  and  severest  terms  known  to  the  "  King's  English,"  but  the 
culprit  speedily  receives  a  severe  and  "wholesome"  judicial  re- 
buke ;  but  let  some  financial  Guy  Fawkes  "  blow  up  "  an  institution 
whose  capital  is  represented  in  millions,  leaving  the  deluded  and 
ruined  shareholders  buried  in  the  debris,  and  especially  if  he  has 
plenty  of  the  not  exactly  definable  commodity,  professionally  or 
technically  termed  "character,"  his  nefarious  "  transactions  "  are 

*  "Cowry's  Lowell." 


256  THE  MEERIMACK  BIVER; 

gingerly  characterized  as  "irregularities."  A  poor  widow,  from 
dire  necessity,  purloins  a  chicken  or  other  food  for  her  famishing 
children,  and  justice  says,  "  Six  months  in  the  House  of  Correc- 
tion "  for  expiation  and  reformation  ;  but  when  some  "  respectable  " 
speculator,  or  rather  peculator,  perpetrates  a  stupendous  fraud  or 
gigantic  swindle,  regardless  alike  of  duty  and  honor,  bringing  ruin 
to  confiding  hundreds,  justice,  if  never  before,  then  exhibits  her 
proverbial  blindness. 

The  following  extracts  are  from  "  Statistics  of  Lowell  Manufac- 
tures, etc.,  annually  compiled  from  authentic  sources  by  Stone  & 
Huse,  January,  1868  :  — 

"  MERRIMACK  COMPANY.  —  Capital,  two  million  five  hundred  dol- 
lars ;  hands  employed,  two  thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty ;  steam, 
in  addition  to  water  power,  twenty-two  engines.  HAMILTON.  — 
Capital,  one  million  two  hundred  thousand  dollars ;  hands  employed, 
one  thousand  two  hundred  and  seventy-five ;  two  engines.  APPLE- 
TON.  —  Capital,  six  hundred  thousand  dollars ;  hands  employed, 
seven  hundred  and  seventy-two.  LOWELL.  —  Capital,  two  million, 
dollars  ;  hands  employed,  one  thousand  four  hundred  and  fifty ;  two 
engines.  MIDDLESEX.  —  Capital,  seven  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
dollars;  hands  employed,  seven  hundred  and  seventy-two.  SUF- 
FOLK. —  Capital,  six  hundred  thousand  dollars ;  hands  employed, 
nine  hundred ;  one  engine.  TREMONT.  —  Capital,  six  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars ;  hands  employed,  one  thousand  two  hundred  and  sixty- 
four.  LAWRENCE.  —  Capital,  one  million  five  hundred  thousand 
dollars ;  hands  employed,  one  thousand  seven  hundred.  BOOTT.  — 
Capital,  one  million  two  hundred  thousand  dollars  ;  hands  employed, 
one  thousand  three  hundred  and  ten ;  one  engine.  MASSACHUSETTS.  — 
Capital,  one  million  eight  hundred  thousand  dollars ;  hands  employed, 
one  thousand  seven  hundred ;  one  engine.  LOWELL  BLEACHERY  (in- 
corporated, 1832).  —  Capital,  three  hundred  thousand  dollars ;  hands 
employed,  four  hundred ;  two  engines.  MACHINE  SHOP  (incorporated, 
1845).  —  Capital,  six  hundred  thousand  dollars;  hands  employed,  six 
hundred.  Total  capital  invested,  thirteen  million  six  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  dollars ;  total  number  of  hands  employed,  thirteen  thousand 
four  hundred  and  ninety-seven ;  total  steam-power,  thirty-two  engines. 

"  The  number  of  churches  is  twenty-two ;  school-houses,  forty-five ; 
schools,  fifty-seven ;  scholars  seven  thousand.  There  are  seven  bank? 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS   TEIBUTAB1ES.  257 

(in  addition  to  four  savings  banks),  with  an  aggregate  capital  of  two 
million  three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars.  The  savings 
banks  have  an  aggregate  deposit  of  about  four  million  dollars." 

To  the  existence  of  the  splendid  water-powers  on  the  Merrimack  is 
largely  due  the  early  introduction  of  the  power-loom,  together  with 
the  extensive  and  comprehensive  system  which  has  made  the  Merri- 
mack valley  and  other  portions  of  New  England  the  manufac- 
tory of  the  Western  World.  It  is  true  that  as  early  as  1787  the 
power-loom  was  introduced  in  Massachusetts,  and,  subsequently,  in  a 
few  instances,  it  was  used  in  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut;  but 
these  cases  were  few,  and  the  loom  so  crude  and  imperfect  as  to 
amount  to  nothing  more,  either  in  the  way  of  improved  fabrics  or 
increased  production,  than  an  experiment;  and  it  was  not  until  sev- 
eral gentlemen,  with  a  determination  to  make  manufacturing  an 
important  branch  of  American  industry,  took  hold  of  the  matter  in 
earnest,  and  experimented  for  months,  in  a  room  on  Broad  Street,  in 
Boston,  that  the  power-loom  was  brought  to  approach  that  degree  of 
perfection  which  it  now  exhibits.  Having  by  these  experiments 
brought  the  imperfect  power-loom,  by  improvement,  practically  to  a 
new  invention  and  a  grand  success,  they  submitted  it  to  a  practical 
test  at  'Waltham,  where  they  were  incorporated  with  a  capital  of  four 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  proved  the  new  machine  to  be  a  per- 
fect success.  From  the  incipient  inquiries  and  investigations  into  the 
theory  and  practice  of  this  branch  of  business,  which  was  industri- 
ously prosecuted  not  only  in  this  country  but  in  Europe,  these  indi- 
viduals manifested  a  sagacity,  talent,  and  perseverance  so  peculiar 
and  great  as  to  mark  them  pre-eminently  as  the  men,  probably  the 
only  men,  competent  for  the  successful  prosecution  of  this  new  and 
extensive  enterprise. 

Starting  on  a  comparatively  new  and  unexplored  field,  in  a  busi- 
ness so  difficult,  complicated,  and  vast ;  laying,  as  they  did,  the  foun- 
dation of  what  may  not  be  improperly  called  a  co-ordinate  branch  of 
a  nation's  industrial  interests  and  prosperity,  it  may  not  be  too  much 
to  say  of  them  that  they  possessed  the  highest  order  of  talent  and 
genius,  and  of  either  of  them,  that  "his  hand  the  rod  of  empire 
might  have  swayed."  Fully  realizing  the  magnificent  scheme  they 
had  inaugurated  in  1814  at  Waltham,  these  sagacious  men  forthwith 
turned  their  attention  to  the  discovery  of  a  motive  power  commen- 
33 


258  THE  MEBEIMACK  RIVER; 

Burate  with  their  requirements,  cheap,  unfailing,  and  efficient.  The 
sagacity  which  had  led  to  successful  experiments,  inventions,  and 
improvements,  and  which  afterwards  resulted  equally  profitable  to 
themselves  and  the  country,  turned  their  attention  to  the  broad  and 
beautiful  Merrimack,  in  whpse  great  volume  and  splendid  falls  they 
found  the  motor  which  possessed  the  requisite  qualification,  and 
around  the  Falls  of  Pawtucket  the  first  act  of  the  domestic  manufac- 
turing drama  of  these  great  actors  is  seen  in  the  fifty  huge  factories 
and  the  forty  thousand  people  of  Lowell,  the  growth  of  only  a  gen- 
eration. The  individuals  who  were  mainly  instrumental  in  the  in- 
troduction and  progress  of  manufacturing  on  the  Merrimack  were 
Nathan  Appleton,  Francis  Oabot  Lowell  (in  honor  of  whom  the 
city  of  Lowell  was  named),  Patrick  Tracy  Jackson,  Kirk  Boott, 
Ezra  Worthen,  Paul  Moody,  and  others.  The  two  last  named,  hav- 
ing previously  had  considerable  experience  in  the  business  at  Ames- 
bury,  were  practical  men  and  of  great  aid  to  the  enterprise. 

The  system  which  they  devised  has  had  able  coadjutors,  and, 
though  they  brought  machinery  to  a  marvellous  state  of  perfection, 
still  improvements  in  minor  details  have  constantly  been  made;  the 
power-loom,  however,  except  in  the  substitution  of  the  crank  for  the 
cam  motion  and  the  increased  rate  of  speed,  remains  substantially 
the  same.  Previous  to  this  time  each  branch,  carding,  spinning, 
weaving,  etc.,  was  a  separate  business,  and  the  transfer  of  the  stock 
from  mill  to  mill  in  undergoing  the  successive  processes  in  the  rou- 
tine of  manufacturing,  was  unnecessarily  slow,  inconvenient,  and 
expensive,  but  these  individuals  perfected  an  organization  of  the 
business  which  dispensed  with  these  primitive  methods  by  building 
mills  of  sufficient  size  to  consummate  the  whole  process  under  one 
roof  beginning  with  the  raw  material  and  turning  out  the  finished 
fabric.  From  this  grand  beginning  at  Lowell  manufacturing  has 
extended  along  the  Merrimack,  above  and  below,  until  the  valley  of 
the  Merrimack,  excepting  narrow  intervening  spaces,  is  one  continu- 
ous manufacturing  community. 

"  The  Wamesits  lived  at  the  forks  of  the  Merrimack  and  Concord 
Rivers,  and  upon  both  sides  of  the  latter  river. 

"Wamesit  is  derived  from  wame  (all,  or  whole),  and  auke  (a 
place) ,  with  the  letter  s  thrown  in  betwixt  the  two  syllables  for  the 
sake  of  the  sound.  The  Indian  village  at  this  place  undoubtedly 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS   TRIBUTARIES.  259 

received  this  name  from  the  fact  that  it  was  a  large  village,  —  the 
place  where  all  the  Indians  collected  together.  This  was  literally 
true  in  the  spring  and  autumn,  as  the  Pawtucket  Falls  near  by  were 
one  of  the  most  noted  fishing-places  in  NewrEngland,  where  the 
Indians  from  far  and  near  gathered  together  in  April  and  May  to 
catch  and  dry  their  year's  stock  of  shad  and  salmon. 

"  Wamesit  was  embraced  nearly  in  the  present  limits  of  Lowell, 
in  Middlesex  County,  Mass." 

The  Concord  River,  which  unites  with  the  Merrimack  at  Lowell, 
is  an  historical  as  well  as  an  important  stream.  Its  source  is  claimed 
by  two  towns,  and,  as  the  claim  of  either  seems  to  be  well  founded, 
it  is  but  fair  to  say  that  it  has  properly  two  principal  sources.  One 
of  the  branches  of  its  head- waters  rises  in  a  pond  in  Westboro',  and 
the  other  in  Hopkinton.  Uniting,  they  form  an  inconsiderable  river, 
which,  having  its  course  through  a  very  level  country,  checks  the 
progress  of  its  current,  and  thus  maintaining  full  banks  gives  it 
the  appearance  of  supplying  a  much  larger  quota  of  water  to  swell 
the  already  plethoric  tide  of  the  Merrimack  than  the  fact  will  war- 
rant. 

The  Concord  is  fifty  miles  in  extreme  length,  and  for  most  of  its 
career  it  has  more  the  appearance  and  characteristics  of  a  lake,  ex- 
tensive to  be  sure,  in  one  direction.  Its  immobility  is  unparalleled 
by  any  other  tributary  to  the  Merrimack ;  it  is  dark,  sullen,  and 
sluggish,  making  out  into  considerable  lagoons  in  places,  producing 
the  plants,  flowers,  fish,  and  reptiles  of  the  most  stagnant  and  miry 
ponds,  and  nothing  more.  Previous  to  the  invasion  and  appropria- 
tion of  these  thoroughfares  by  dams  and  locks,  shad,  alewives,  and 
eels,  soft  fish  of  the  warm- water  type,  took  naturally  to  this  stream; 
nobler  varieties,  such  as  the  salmon,  avoiding  its  turbid  and  uncon- 
genial waters. 

Before  the  advent  of  the  pale-faces  this  stream  was  known  to  the 
squatter  sovereigns  along  its  course  by  the  name  of  Musketaquid,  or 
Meadow  River;  the  eminent  appropriateness  of  the  original  name 
being  more  distinctly  apparent  as  time  rolls  on. 

In  1635,  the  town  of  Concord  was  settled  by  English,  and  the 
river  as  well  as  the  town  thenceforward  took  the  same  name.  The 
year  1775  witnessed  scenes  here  on  the  very  margin  of  this  stream 
which  illustrate  the  spirit  of  '76,  and  gave  a  direction  and  impetus 


260  THE  MEREIMACK  RIVER; 

to  Revolutionary  events  which  disaster,  privation,  and  vicissitudes 
only  accelerated.  Called  to  immediate  action,  without  preparation 
or  efficient  implements,  these  men,  on  that  memorable  20th  of  April, 
not  so  much,  perhaps,  to  oppose  tyranny,  —  for  there  was  not  much 
tyranny  to  oppose,  except  in  imagination, — but  to  demonstrate  their 
faith  in  self-government,  and  determination,  come  weal  or  woe,  to 
bring  it  to  a  practical  test,  —  those  men,  all  untrained  and  inefficiently 
armed  as  they  were,  threw  themselves  into  the  ' '  imminent  deadly 
breach  "  at  the  old  north  bridge,  and  by  their  valor,  by  indomitable 
determination  and  pluck,  forced  the  serried  ranks  of  "perfidious  "  Al- 
bion's veterans  to  waver,  yield,  and  fly. 

The  abutments  of  the  battle-ground  bridge  still  remain  almost  the 
sole  surviving  relics  of  this  auspicious  inauguration  conflict. 

The  falls  on  the  Concord  River  at  Billerica  have  long  been  used 
for  mechanical  and  manufacturing  purposes,  and  were  an  important 
element  in  the  prosperity  of  that  section  more  than  a  century 
before  ground  was  broken  for  manufacturing  purposes  at  Lowell. 

As  early  as  1708  the  town  authorized  the  construction  of  a  dam 
at  this  place,  which  was  undoubtedly  the  first  ever  built  on  this 
stream.  This  dam  was  constructed  for  the  indispensable  saw  and 
grain  mills  of  the  early  time,  and  was  likewise,  at  various  periods, 
used  for  other  purposes ;  there  being  at  one  time  a  comb  factory  and 
some  other  mechanical  works  which  obtained  their  motive  power  from 
this  fall. 

In  1740,  a  mill  was  erected,  of  considerable  consequence  at  that 
early  perio'd,  filled  with  machinery  for  finishing  home-made  cloth, 
called  the  "  Fulling  Mill,"  and  was  operated  for  a  number  of  years, 
when  it  was  purchased  by  Francis  Faulkner,  Esq.  It  was  operated 
several  years  by  Messrs.  Faulkner  &  Son,  and  has  continued  unin- 
terruptedly under  the  control  of  the  family  to  the  present  time,  hav- 
ing been  since  1810  under  the  immediate  management  of  J.  R. 
Faulkner,  Esq.,  the  present  proprietor. 

In  1836,  the  old  mill  was  destroyed  by  fire,  but  was  rebuilt  imme- 
diately, with  four  sets  of  machinery,  and  in  1865  the  mill  was  en- 
larged, and  three  sets  additional,  making  seven  sets  altogether,  were 
put  in  operation.  The  average  product  of  this  mill  is  twenty-seven 
hundred  yards  of  flannel  daily. 

In  1835,  there  was  an  old  shop  at  this  place  used  for  the  prepara- 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TEIBUTAKIES.  261 

tionof  dye-stuffs,  which  was,  in  1839,  leased  by  the  Messrs.  Talbot 
who  continued  the  preparation  of  dye-woods,  drugs,  etc.,  on  a  small 
scale  at  first,  but  with  judicious  management  it  steadily  increased, 
and  grew  to  be  an  extensive  and  important  branch  of  business. 

In  1840,  a  carpet  manufactory  was  established  here  by  Messrs. 
Lang  &  Lannagan,  which  being  destroyed  by  fire  was  not  rebuilt. 
In  1851,  Messrs.  C.  P.  Talbot  &  Co.  purchased  a  franchise  of  the 
Middlesex  Canal  Co.,  and  thus  secured  a  priority  of  right  to  the 
mill  privilege,  which  is  rated  at  two  hundred  horse-power,  and,  in 
1857,  erected  a  fine  mill  for  the  manufacture  of  flannels,  which  they 
have  since  continued  in  successful  operation,  the  average  daily  prod- 
uct being  three  thousand  yards.  As  has  already  been  observed,  the 
Indian  name  of  this  stream,  Musketaquid  or  Meadow  River,  was 
peculiarly  appropriate,  and  eminently  descriptive  of  its  characteris- 
tics ;  the  country  through  which  it  passes  being  so  remarkably  level 
that  its  waters  are  sullen,  sluggish,  and  slimy,  making  out  through 
the  numerous  depressions  of  the  soil  in  extensive  marshes  and 
lagoons,  foul  with  rank  water-grasses  and  filthy  reptiles,  the  haunt 
and  fishing-ground  of  the  majestic  bittern,  which,  though  a  native  of 
Europe,  is  found  plentiful  in  all  the  fresh-water  marshes  of  New 
England;  the  black  tortoise,  the  spotted  fresh-water  terrapin,  the 
great  water-adder,  and  the  hordes  of  disgusting  water-bred  rep- 
tiles common  to  stagnant  pools ;  its  redeeming  features  being  the  fine 
farms  and  broad  green  fertile  intervals  which  border  it,  and  the 
"milky  way"  starred  with  the  great  white  water-lily  of  midsum- 
mer, which  in  unequalled  beauty  and  fragrance  floats  gracefully  upon 
its  tranquil  surface. 

The  character  of  the  Concord  is  entirely  different  from  any  other 
tributary  of  the  Merrimack ;  indeed,  a  gentleman  who  is  something 
of  a  naturalist,  and  a  careful  observer,  previous  to  the  building  of 
the  dam  at  Lawrence,  and  when  the  tribes  of  the  sea  came  up  the 
Merrimack,  noticed  the  difference  between  the  shad,  alewives,  etc., 
which  passed  into  the  tepid,  stagnant  waters  of  the  Concord,  and 
those  of  the  same  variety,  which,  proceeding  up  the  Merrimack, 
sought  its  livelier  affluents,  — the  former  being  darker  in  color,  softer, 
poorer  in  flavor,  and  less  palatable  than  the  latter.  This  being  the 
natural  condition  of  the  river,  it  is  not  a  matter  of  surprise  that  the 
landed  proprietors  along  its  course,  who  had  come  mary  years  sub- 


262  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

sequent  to  the  construction  of  the  Billerica  Dam,  should  naturally 
attribute  the  stagnation  and  flowage  to  that,  instead  of  natural  causes. 
Such  was  the  fact,  and  the  proprietors  of  interval  lands  in  Sudbury, 
Concord,  and  other  towns  on  the  river,  honestly  believed  that  the  dam 
was  a  positive  and  serious  detriment  to  their  lands  along  the  margin 
of  the  stream;  and  as  early  as  1810  a  suit  was  brought  against  the 
proprietors  of  the  mill  privilege  for  damage,  and  to  restrain  them 
from  the  flowage  of  these  lands. 

This  suit  was  decided  in  favor  of  the  mill  owners ;  but  this  decision 
not  being  satisfactory,  another  suit  was  brought  two  years  later  for 
the  same  purpose,  which  was  also  decided  adversely  to  the  parties 
claiming  to  be  aggrieved  by  the  maintenance  of  the  dam  at  Billerica. 
This  put  a  quietus  to  the  water  controversy  for  many  years,  and 
peace  reigned  on  the  Concord.  In  1828  the  old  wooden  dam  was 
replaced  by  a  substantial  stone  dam,  and  the  enterprising  proprietors 
kept  the  wheels  of  their  machinery  steadily  in  motion.  The  feeling, 
however,  which  had  been  entertained  for  many  years  that  the  back- 
set of  this  dam  was  a  nuisance  and  a  serious  damage,  was  not  obliter- 
ated by  adverse  judicial  decisions,  nor  even  abated ;  the  belief  pre- 
vailed that  it  was  a  grievance  which  could  not,  and  ought  not  to  be 
borne.  Accordingly  in  1862,  the  question  was  brought  before  the 
Massachusetts  Legislature,  with  a  fixed  purpose,  on  both  sides,  of  giv- 
ing the  whole  subject  a  thorough  investigation,  with  a  view  to  a  final 
adjustment.  The  land  owners  argued,  that,  if  the  mill  owners  had 
bought  the  Middlesex  Canal,  it  did  not  follow  that  they  had  a  right 
to  flow  the  lands ;  in  fact,  they  had  no  right,  and  could  acquire  no 
right  to  damage  their  property,  at  least,  without  ample  and  satis- 
factory compensation.  On  the  other  hand,  it  was  proved  that  in 
1798  an  addition  was  made  to  the  original  charter  of  the  Middlesex 
Canal  Company,  granting  them  a  right  to  use  the  water  of  the  Concord 
River  for  manufacturing  or  mechanical  purposes,  and  when  the  fran- 
chise of  the  Middlesex  Canal  was  purchased  by  the  Messrs.  Talbot 
&  Co.,  the  water-power  right  was  included  in  the  purchase.  It  was 
contended  that  the  dam  did  not  cause  the  overflow  of  the  lands  in 
question.  The  Legislature  appointed  commissioners,  engineers,  and 
other  gentlemen  fully  competent,  to  settle  the  question  on  its  merits. 
The  commissioners,  assuming  the  entire  control  of  the  water  of  the 
river  at  and  above  the  Billerica  Dam  for  a  period  of  thirty  days, 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  263 

made  many  thousand  measurements  of  the  water  in  or  under  every 
conceivable  varying  condition,  and  reaching  far  up  the  stream,  open- 
ing the  sluices  and  reducing  it  to  its  natural  current ;  in  short,  mak- 
ing as  thorough  an  investigation  as  scientific  engineering  skill  could 
possibly  make,  with  a  view  to  elucidate  the  facts.  The  hoard  of 
commissioners,  having  given  the  whole  subject  a  most  searching  and 
unbiased  examination,  reported  in  effect,  as  is  understood,  that  the  dam 
at  Billerica  was  not  the  cause  of  so  much  of  the  lands  bordering  on 
the  river  being  water-logged  and  ruined ;  that  the  cause  of  this 
condition  of  the  meadows  was  not  owing  to  the  maintenance  of  the 
dam;  that  it  was  entirely  independent  of  any  artificial  obstruction, 
but  was  precisely  the  natural  condition  of  the  river,  and  the  lands 
adjacent,  and  nothing  else ;  and  the  Legislature  confirmed  this  re- 
port by  a  vote  to  that  effect.  In  the  legislative  decision  of  this 
celebrated  case,  so  important  and  interesting  to  all  proprietors  of 
water-power  in  New  England,  after  a  full,  patient,  and  careful  inves- 
tigation, all  parties  concerned,  it  is  hoped  and  believed,  finally  and 
fully  acquiesced ;  the  land  owners  having  stood  firm,  with  valor  and 
determination,  for  their  rights  until  they  were  defined  and  established 
by  a  competent  tribunal ;  while  the  Messrs.  Talbot  and  Faulkner  de- 
fended and  maintained  the  rights  of  the  proprietors,  not  only  of  this 
water-power,  but  all  other  water-powers,  at  an  enormous  expense, 
and  with  a  zeal,  energy,  and  determination  which  proved  that  they 
fully  realized  the  importance  of  the  issue,  and  comprehended  the  dis- 
astrous consequences  not  only  to  themselves,  but  to  the  entire  manu- 
facturing interests  of  New  England,  involved  in  an  unfavorable  result 
of  this  great  contest. 

The  torpid  character,  which  has  already  been  described,  is  main- 
tained by  the  Concord,  with  the  exception  of  the  falls  at  Billerica, 
until  it  arrives  in  the  vicinity  of  that  part  of  Lowell  known  as  Whip- 
pie's  Mills.  If  it  has  been  a  marvel  of  idleness  and  stupidity  for 
the  first  fifty  miles  of  its  career,  it  makes  an  earnest  effort  to  com- 
pensate, as  far  as  possible,  by  its  great  activity  throughout  the  re- 
mainder of  its  course  of  about  two  miles,  to  the  Merrimack.  From  the 
point  indicated  it  is  little  else  than  a  constant  succession  of  rapids 
and  falls,  which  are  generally  improved  by  men  of  sagacity,  enterprise, 
and  activity,  and  made  to  contribute  largely  to  the  wealth,  industry, 
importance,  and  growth  of  the  young  and  flourishing  city  of  Lowell. 


264  THE  MEREIMACK  RIVER; 

As  early  as  1801,  Mr.  Moses  Hale  built  and  put  in  operation  a 
carding-mill  a  short  distance  from  the  Concord,  on  River  Meadow, 
or,  as  it  has  long  been  called,  Hale's  Brook,  which  falls  into  the 
Concord  at  the  foot  of  Whipple's  Falls.  In  1818,  Mr.  Hale  estab- 
lished works  for  the  manufacture  of  gunpowder  at  these  falls,  and 
took  into  his  employ  an  athletic  young  man,  whose  name  was  Oliver 
M.  Whipple,  who  proved  to  be  as  robust  in  intellect,  determination, 
and  self-reliance  as  he  was  physically,  and  the  following  year  he  was 
made  a  partner ;  and,  managing  the  business  with  great  ability  and 
success  for  many  years,  he  at  length  became  sole  proprietor,  and  con- 
tinued this  hazardous  business  with  unabated  success  until  the  year 
1855,  when,  in  consequence  of  ill-health,  he  disposed  of  stock,  fix- 
tures, and  machinery,  which  were  removed  to  the  State  of  Maine 
and  put  in  operation  by  another  company.  Mr.  Whipple  early  saw 
the  importance  and  value  of  these  falls  for  manufacturing  and  me- 
chanical purposes,  and  at  once  adopted  measures  to  secure  these  ad- 
vantages. To  accomplish  this  purpose,  he  constructed  a  canal  from 
the  head  of  the  falls,  nearly  parallel  with,  and  a  few  rods  distant  from, 
the  left  bank  of  the  river  to  the  foot  of  the  falls,  thence  taking  a 
westerly  course,  discharging  its  waters,  after  being  used  into  River 
Meadow  Brook.  The  total  perpendicular  fall  at  this  place  is  twenty- 
five  f^et,  affording  excellent  mill  sites,  which  are  occupied  by 
Faulkner's  Mill,  flannel ;  Chase's  Mill,  fancy  woollen  ;  Charles  A. 
Stott's,  flannel ;  American  Boot  Company ;  Belvidere  Woollen  Com- 
pany, flannels ;  Shuttle  Factory ;  American  Bunting  Company ;  Nay- 
lor's  Carpet  Company:  Grist  Mill  and  Worsted  Mill.  This  canal  is 
claimed  to  be  the  first  of  the  kind  ever  constructed  for  such  uses  in  this 
country ;  and,  so  chimerical  did  this  project  appear  to  the  partners 
of  Mr.  Whipple,  that  the  eminent  engineer,  Loami  Baldwin,  was  called 
here  to  give  his  opinion  in  regard  to  it.  He  at  a  glance  saw  its  im- 
portance and  valuable  arrangement  to  apply  the  water-power  to  proper 
uses.  Of  course,  having  been  examined  and  decided  favorably  by 
Mr.  Whipple's  comprehensive  mind,  no  other  result  could  have  been 
reasonably  anticipated  ;  thus  the  only  effect  of  this  investigation  was 
to  confirm  the  wisdom  of  Mr.  Whipple's  conclusions  by  testing  them 
with  eminent  engineering  skill.  In  September,  1821,  operations 
'vere  commenced  for  the  construction  of  this  canal,  which  was  has- 
tened to  its  completion ;  and  it  is  not  improbable,  in  fact,  it  is  known, 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  265 

that  this  small  canal  had  a  favorable  influence  on  the  men  who,  the 
following  year,  examined  the  Pawtucket  Falls  with  a  view  to  estab- 
lishing the  immense  business  which  pre-eminently  entitles  Lowell  to 
the  distinctive  name  it  bears,  —  the  City  of  Spindles.  Thus,  it 
will  be  seen  that  Oliver  M.  Whipple  is  entitled,  perhaps  equally  with 
the  other  distinguished  gentlemen  whose  names  have  already  been 
given,  to  the  credit  of  founding,  as  he  certainly  is,  in  his  individual 
capacity,  to  the  building  up  of  a  famous  and  flourishing  city;  and  no 
citizen  of  Lowell,  or  elsewhere,  can  fail  to  appreciate  the  conspicu- 
ous part  acted  by  him  in  forming  the  worthy  character  and  estab- 
lishing many  of  those  successful  enterprises  which  redound  to  the 
prosperity  and  fame  of  the  city  of  his  adoption.  While  on  the  flood- 
tide  of  prosperity  in  the  manufacture  of  gunpowder,  Mr.  Whipple 
found  time  to  pay  some  attention  to  such  improvements  as  would  in 
the  future  be  of  advantage  not  only  to  himself,  but  to  individuals 
and  the  community  in  which  he  lived.  With  these  aims  constantly 
in  view,  and  actuated  by  such  motives,  he  turned  his  attention 
steadily  to  securing  such  of  the  lands  bordering  on  the  river  as  were 
necessary  for  securing  the  power  and  independent  control  of  the  mill- 
sites  which  it  furnishes.  In  this  manner,  and  by  degrees,  he  ob- 
tained possession  of  much  of  the  land,  but  it  was  not  until  after  the 
year  1834  that  he  secured  the  lands  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  and 
with  them  the  entire  control  of  this  water-power.  Mr.  Whipple  has  al- 
ready disposed  of  the  right  to  six  hundred  horse-power  to  different  indi- 
viduals, while  the  capacity  of  the  stream  is  not  yet  nearly  exhausted. 
Mr.  Whipple  deserves  more  than  a  passing  notice,  as  he  has  always 
been  a  very  enterprising  man,  ready  for  any  position  in  public  life 
to  which  the  people  of  Lowell  have  called  him,  and  efficient  in  every 
position;  public-spirited,  generous,  and  coming  from  a  stock  that 
bears  the  stamp  of  honesty,  integrity,  and  uncontrollable  activity, 
he  is  a  worthy  representative  of  the  name  he  bears,  and  of  the  race 
to  which  he  belongs.  He  is  now  living  in  the  enjoyment  of  good 
health  and  a  vigorous  intellect,  and  takes  great  pleasure  in  reviewing 
the  stirring  events  of  the  last  fifty  years  of  his  l:fe,  — events  in  which 
himself  has  been  one  of  the  most  prominent  actors, — which  he  can 
review  with  gratification  and  the  utmost  self-satisfaction,  as  every- 
thing of  an  important  character  in  which  he  has  been  engaged  bears 
34 


266  THE  HEREIN ACK  RIVER; 

the  flattering  testimony  of  a  wise  forecast,  an  unusual  prudence,  and 
skilful  management  in  its  beneficent  and  successful  result. 

On  the  6th  of  April,  1854,  the  sons  of  Vermont,  residing  in 
Lowell,  held  a  pleasant  reunion,  and  of  this  meeting  Oliver  M. 
Whipple,  Esq.,  was  president.  By  referring  to  the  columns  of  the 
"Lowell  Courier,"  in  which  the  proceedings  of  the  meeting  were 
published,  it  is  seen  that  the  chairman,  Mr.  Whipple,  was  born  in 
Weathersfield,  Windsor  County,  Vt.  From  remarks  made  on  that 
occasion,  it  appears  that,  having  reached  his  majority,  with  such  edu- 
cation as  three  months  of  annual  common  schooling  afforded,  a  liberal 
supply  of  good  common  sense,  and  fifteen  dollars  in  cash  as  his  stock 
in  trade,  Mr.  Whipple,  in  1815,  set  off  on  foot,  as  light  in  heart  as 
in  pocket,  to  seek  his  fortune,  shaping  his  course  for  Boston,  which 
city  he  reached  after  a  diligent  and  tedious  journey  of  four  days. 
Arriving  in  Boston  he  was  soon  employed  by  parties,  and  proceeded 
to  Southboro',  where  he  remained  three  years,  and  by  industry, 
economy,  and  frugality  he  was  enabled,  in  1818,  to  go  to  Lowell 
with  the  snug  little  sum  of  six  hundred  dollars  in  his  pocket.  At 
the  time  he  commenced  operations  on  the  Concord  River  the  place 
was  known  as  East  Chelmsford,  and  contained  but  a  few  houses ;  he 
has,  therefore,  a  historical  connection  with  the  city  of  Lowell  from 
its  origin  to  the  present  time,  and  is  certainly,  as  a  business  man  and 
a  citizen,  one  of  its  most  important  features.  From  this  humble 
beginning,  in  1818,  with  a  total  cash  capital  of  six  hundred  dollars, 
some  idea  may  be  formed  of  his  industry  and  enterprise,  when  it  is 
known  that,  in  1856,  the  assessors'  book  showed  that  his  annual  tax 
was  fifteen  hundred  dollars ;  and  it  must  be  a  satisfaction  to  him  to 
reflect  that  he  has  earned  his  ample  fortune,  —  which  is  more  than 
some  other  prominent  Lowellians  are  popularly  credited  with. 

Although  Mr.  Whipple,  by  his  ability  and  untiring  energy,  has 
deserved  and  enjoyed  a  large  measure  of  material  prosperity,  still  no 
efforts  of  his  could  ward  off  those  chastening  afflictions  sent  by  a 
mysterious  hand,  and  which  are  the  lot  of  a  common  humanity. 
About  1852.  under  the  long-continued  pressure  of  his  arduous  du- 
ties, his  strong  constitution  gave  way,  and  for  several  years  his  health 
was  so  precarious  that  no  one,  except  himself,  regarded  the  prospect 
of  his  recovery  as  hopeful.  He,  however,  relying  upon  a  naturally 
robust  physique,  and  regular,  abstemious  habits,  seems  to  have  been 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TEIBUTAEIES.  267 

the  only  one  who  never  doubted  a  favorable  final  result.  Unfortu- 
nately, during  this  trying  period  there  came  a  general  stagnation  in 
his  line  of  business,  which  would  have  involved  men  of  smaller  cali- 
bre than  Mr.  Whipple  in  utter  and  irretrievable  ruin.  But  that 
remarkable  sagacity  which  had  been  his  passport  to  success  remained 
in  sicl«iess  and  adversity  one  of  the  chief  elements  of  his  character. 
He  saw  that  his  best  move  was  to  render  as  much  as  possible  of  his 
real  property  available,  and  for  this  purpose  secured  the  valuable 
services  of  E.  B.  Patch,  Esq.,  for  thirty -five  years  a  resident  of 
Lowell,  and  who  had  been  largely  engaged  in  the  commission  and 
real  estate  business,  and  who  was  known  to  Mr.  Whipple  to  be  a  sa- 
gacious and  prudent  manager.  Mr.  Patch,  as  agent  for  Mr.  Whipple, 
entered  upon  the  active  discharge  of  his  duties,  when  the  latter  realized 
sufficient  from  his  advantageous  transactions  to  set  him  financially 
on  his  feet  again ;  but,  ill  health  continuing,  Mr.  Whipple  found  it 
advisable  to  dispose  of  his  powder  works,  and  afterwards  the  balance 
of  his  unoccupied  water-power  and  other  unproductive  real  estate. 

In  1861,  Mr.  Patch  secured  a  bond  (for  a  deed)  of  all  the  unsold 
water-power  on  the  Concord  River,  and  the  lands  below  the  Ceme- 
tery Bridge,  on  both  sides  of  that  stream,  to  the  confluence  of  Hale's 
Brook,  —  including  the  grove  on  both  sides  of  Lawrence  Street  and 
the  land  extending  west  to  Central  and  Gorham  Streets,  —  nearly 
fifty  acres  in  all,  which  he  laid  out  in  building  and  factory  lots,  by 
which  means  he  disposed  of  them  and  the  unused  water-powers,  the 
former  for  dwellings,  the  latter  to  A.  H.  Chase,  the  Lowell  Bleach- 
ery  Company,  N.  R.  Wood,  S.  W.  Faulkner,  Hosford  E.  Chase  & 
Co.,  for  manufacturing  purposes.  In  March,  1863,  Mr.  Patch  took 
a  deed  of  the  property  remaining  unsold,  and  for  the  next  two  years 
devoted  his  time  and  his  energies  to  the  development  of  its  resources. 
During  this  period  wonderful  improvements  were  made  on  this  neg- 
lected territory ;  the  canal  was  much  enlarged,  its  capacity  being 
nearly  doubled,  its  banks  and  gates  were  repaired,  twelve  additional 
wheels  were  set  TO  motion,  buildings  were  altered  and  repaired  and 
new  ones  erected,  machinery  was  overhauled  and  new  and  improved 
patterns  substituted,  streets  were  laid  out,  bridges  built,  and  the  fa- 
cilities for  business  generally  were  so  increased  that  the  rents  advanced 
from  about  three  thousand  dollars  to  nearly  ten  thousand  dollars  per 
year.  He  also  gave  the  city  land  and  material  for  widening  and 


268  THE  MERBIMACK  EIVEE; 

repairing  Lawrence  Street  from  the  canal  to  the  Cemetery  Bridge, 
making  it  a  pleasant  drive,  and  as  fine  a  piece  of  road  as  any  in 
Lowell. 

In  1865,  Mr.  Patch  disposed  of  the  balance  of  his  property  to 
General  B.  F.  Butler,  who  organized  a  company  at  once,  called  the 
Wamesit  Water-Power  Company.  This  brief  synopsis  of  his^trans- 
actions  shows  what  a  man  of  energy,  ability,  and  integrity,  like  Mr. 
Patch,  can  accomplish,  and  the  measure  of  his  merits  may  be  better 
estimated  when  we  consider  how  at  that  time  the  nation  was  in  the 
midst  of  a  gigantic  struggle ;  a  terrible  financial  revulsion  was  im- 
pending, and  a  general  prostration  of  business  prevailed,  not  only 
in  Lowell,  but  over  all  the  land.  Overcoming  all  these  serious 
obstacles,  which  would  have  appalled  men  of  less  activity  and 
determination,  he  pushed  steadily  forward  until  his  purpose  was 
splendidly  accomplished.  Mr.  Whipple,  almost  on  the  verge  of  the 
grave,  and  totally  incapable  of  managing  his  affairs,  yet  exhibited 
his  superior  judgment  in  the  selection  of  Mr.  Patch  as  manager,  and 
he,  in  return,  demonstrated  the  wisdom  of  the  selection.  Compara- 
tively valueless  property  'was  brought  to  a  productive  condition, 
many  thousands  of  dollars  were  put  in  deserving  pockets,  and  con- 
sequently added  to  the  taxable  property  of  Lowell ;  and  as  a  proof 
of  the  strict  and  rare  integrity  of  the  parties  interested  it  may  be 
said  truly  that  no  two  gentlemen  enjoy  each  other's  respect  and  con- 
fidence more  fully  than  Mr.  Whipple  and  Mr.  Patch,  and  nothing 
could  be  more  fortunate  or  gratifying  to  both  than  the  result  of  their 
business  connection.  Mr.  Whipple  became  fully  restored  to  health, 
and  had  the  good  fortune  to  find  the  crisis  in  his  financial  affairs 
averted,  and  his  ample  fortune  unimpaired ;  while  Mr.  Patch  had 
the  great  satisfaction  of  realizing  that  he  had  not  only  averted  a  sad 
calamity  to  an  old  and  valued  friend,  but  at  the  same  time,  by  his 
talent  and  judgment,  he  had  built  up  a  business  territory  which  is  a 
credit  and  a  marked  feature  of  this  enterprising  city,  and  at  the 
same  time  had  secured  for  his  toil  and  enterprise  Cample,  material 
compensation. 

There  are  few  streams  of  its  size,  so  romantically  historical  in  its 
records,  traditions,  and  surroundings,  and  in  its  application  to  the 
service  of  man  and  the  promotion  of  useful  arts,  as  the  Concord. 
For  fifty  years  past  the  true  character  of  this  remarkable  stream  was 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  269 

so  little  understood  even  by  the  land-owners  along  its  borders  that  an 
almost  continuous  and  very  acrimonious  legal  controversy  was  main- 
tained, which  resulted  in  establishing  the  fact,  by  an  able  Board  of 
Legislative  Commissioners,  that  the  river  was  a  very  different  thing 
from  what  they  had,  all  their  lives,  supposed  it  to  be.  An  inability  to 
understand  its  true  character  had  always  prevailed.  It  had  been  an 
aggravating  and  expensive  problem  to  some,  and  an  insoluble  mystery 
to  others.  The  first  blood  of  the  Revolution,  the  blood  of  the  in- 
trepid and  invincible  though  untrained  yeomanry,  mingled  with  its 
turbid  waters  at  the  Old  North  Bridge,  and  long  years  before  it  had 
been  the  haunt  of  the  wary  and  stealthy  barbarian,  who,  swooping 
down  upon  the  exposed  and  defenceless  settlers,  enacted  those  atroc- 
ities which  marked  the  advancing  borders  of  civilization  in  New 
England,  and  makes  the  history  of  that  epoch  a  yet  existing  terror. 
It  was  then  called  the  Musketaquid  or  Meadow  River,  and  it  is  the 
meadow  river  still,  —  a  strong  proof  that  the  appropriateness  of 
Indian  designations  need  not  be  questioned,  much  less  changed.  If, 
in  some  sense,  a  river  is  the  type  of  human  life,  this  particular 
stream  may  be  cited  as  symbolizing  the  actual  career  of  many  indi- 
viduals known  to  those  who  may  give  the  comparison  a  little  reflec- 
tion. How  many  there  are  who  start  off  on  the  journey  of  life  like 
this  stream, — useless,  idle,  and  aimless,  instead  of  becoming  a  wheel, 
a  lever,  an  axle,  a  something  in  that  complicated  machine  called 
society  !  The  topography  of  the  country  is  such,  and  the  aspect  of 
the  stream  so  peculiar,  as  to  warrant  the  supposition  that  it  had  re- 
pudiated natural  laws,  ignored  the  attraction  of  gravitation,  and  had 
taken  its  course  over  a  gentle  acclivity,  which  has  the  effect  to  get 
itself  repudiated  in  turn  by  those  same  laws,  as  it  leaves  its  bank 
through  every  depression,  and  ruins  much  of  the  adjacent  soil  by  the 
creation  of  swamps,  marshes,  and  lagoons.  Thus  it  is  with  individ- 
ual idleness,  disfiguring  the  course  of  life  with  waste  places,  while 
the  sedges,  rank  water-weeds,  and  ugly,  filthy  reptiles  represent  the 
vices,  little  and  great,  the  fungi  bred  by  indolence,  —  a  parasitic 
growth. 

On  reaching  Billerica,  as  if  disgusted  with  its  previous  lack  of 
energy,  the  stream  makes  a  daring  though  spasmodic  attempt  at  ref- 
ormation, but  after  thi*  tolerably  successful  effort,  is  apparently 
satisfied  or  exhausted  and  relapses  into  its  former  state  of  stupidity, 


270  THE  MERRIMACK  EIVER; 

which  it  maintains  until  it  arrives  at  maturity,  and  at  Lowell,  where, 
like  the  man  who  awakes  to  a  realizing  sense  of  his  duties,  obliga- 
tions, and  responsibilities  at  the  eleventh  hour,  throws  off  the  lethargy 
that  has  held  it  so  long  in  chains,  and,  dashing  over  nearly  two 
miles  of  picturesque  and  powerful  falls,  seems  to  seek,  and  with 
entire  success,  to  compensate  for  its  former  vagrant  life,  and  finally 
throws  itself  with  alacrity  into  the  Merrimack,  leaving  no  space 
between  the  termination  of  its  beneficent  labors  and  its  final  doom ; 
typifying  not  only  the  necessity  but  the  grandeur  of  a  reformation 
which,  by  earnest,  vigorous  works,  testifies  to  an  ultimate  apprecia- 
tion of  the  duties,  objects,  and  obligations  imposed  by  the  very  fact 
of  the  creation  of  capacity  and  inherent  power.  The  deep  tinge  of 
romance  surrounding  this  stream  in  its  native  condition  has  not 
faded  or  diminished,  but  is,  rather,  intensified  by  the  peculiarities  of 
the  men  and  the  circumstances  connected  with  the  inauguration  and 
prosecution  of  improvements  around  its  splendid  waterfalls. 

Nearly  one  hundred  years  ago  a  man  named  Ezekiel  Hale,  who 
resided  at  West  Newbury,  possessing  a  great  and  almost  purely  me- 
chanical genius,  left  his  home  in  search  of  a  water-power  available  for 
the  development  of  a  manufacturing  scheme,  —  a  branch  of  industry 
then  in  its  infancy  in  this  country,  which  his  vigorous  intellect  had 
long  and  anxiously  studied ;  an  enterprise  crude  and  meagre,  to  be 
sure,  compared  with  the  gigantic  achievements  of  the  present  day,  yet, 
for  that  early  time,  a  grand  conception.  Having,  on  his  way,  ex- 
amined the  capacity  of  Little  River,  in  Haverhill,  and  concluding  to 
look  farther,  he  finally  set  down  on  the  lower  falls  of  Beaver  River, 
in  Dracut,  where  he  laid  the  foundation  for  the  extensive  Merrimack 
Woollen  Mills,  which  now  occupy  the  site  where  Mr.  Hale  begun. 
His  sons,  imbued  with  the  same  spirit  as  the  father,  now  cast  about 
for  a  new  and  independent  beginning,  each  for  himself.  Ezekiel  re- 
turned to  Little  River  and  established  himself  where  E.  J.  M.  Hale, 
Esq. ,  has  continued  the  business  for  many  years  until  recently,  — 
being  superseded  by  Mr.  Stevens,  a  connection  of  the  family,  when 
Mr.  Hale  engaged  in  the  manufacturing  business,  more  extensively, 
at  Groveland.  Moses,  another  son  of  Ezekiel,  senior,  prospected  for 
himself.  In  his  peregrinations  he  crossed  the  Merrimack  and  found 
himself  in  the  neighborhood  of  Whipple's  Falls  in  the  Concord 
River,  and  exclaiming  "  Eureka  !  "  with  the  enthusiasm  of  a  dev- 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  271 

otee,  he  pondered  on  this  prodigal  waste  of  power  until  the  sun  de- 
scended behind  a  crimson  drapery  of  clouds,  the  gorgeous,  purple 
twilight  deepened  into  gloom  and  "left  the  world  to  darkness  and 
to ' '  him.  Thoroughly  mechanical  in  his  intellectual  organization, 
he  could  not  fail  to  realize  that  here  was  an  agency  with  the  ca- 
pacity to  expand  and  mature  his  preconceived  desire  to  found  a 
mechanical  and  manufacturing  community  himself.  Composed  of  spec- 
ulative as  well  as  operative  elements,  his  mind  here  recognized  a  har- 
monious blending  of  those  qualities  for  which  he  yearned,  and  was 
quieted.  This  was  his  place.  At  the  head  of  these  falls  stood  a 
beautiful  perennial  grove,  its  stately  and  venerable  columns  support- 
ing a  dense  canopy  of  foliage,  and  whose  gloomy,  silent  avenues, 
secluded  dells,  and  mysterious  grottos  might  be  peopled  with  the 
genii  of  this  romantic  region.  Who  shall  say,  in  his  dream  of  those 
grand  results  he  scarcely  dared  anticipate,  — the  working  of  the  irre- 
pressible principle  of  progression,  —  but  Vulcan  stood  upon  the 
border  of  this  terrestrial  paradise  of  shadows  with  bare  and  brawny 
arm  and  ponderous  hammer,  ready  to  summon  his  corps  d'industrie 
to  the  furnace,  and  to  forge  the  manacles  which  should  securely  bind 
this  hydraulic  giant,  and  cast  him,  prone  and  pliant,  at  the  feet  of 
this  Divinity  of  Mechanism,  whose  name  was  Moses  Hale  ?  Who 
can  say  but  Venus,  in  obedience  to  the  will  of  her  lord,  assembled 
her  fair  daughters  and  explained  to  them  the  new  path  and  the  new 
duties  about  to  open  to  them ;  how  nimble  and  cunning  fingers  must 
manipulate  the  machinery,  and  in  the  production  of  fabrics  only  yet 
foreseen,  and,  with  an  admonition  to  be  faithful,  gave  them  the  ma- 
ternal blessing  ?  Perhaps  this  very  circumstance  was  the  foundation 
for  that  display  of  these  same  daughters,  unequalled  in  magnifi- 
cence, which,  many  years  later,  in  1833,  welcomed  the  Hero  of  the 
Hermitage,  on  his  memorable  visit  to  the  spot  which  had  already 
come  to  be  known  as  "  the  City  of  Spindles."  With  his  character- 
istic gallantry,  Gen.  Jackson  visited  Lowell  to  pay  his  respects  to 
these  beautiful  operatives,  the  fair  daughters  of  New  England,  who 
had  left  their  quiet  country  homes  and  come  here  to  astonish  the 
land  with  the  amazing  growth  of  this  new  city  and  new  branch  of 
industry  and  the  large  production  of  cotton  fabrics  reached  in  so 
short  a  period  of  time.  On  the  26th  of  June,  1833,  Andrew 
Jackson,  President  of  the  United  States,  accompanied  by  the  Vice- 


272  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

President  and  several  members  of  his  cabinet,  visited  Lowell.  Hia 
desire  to  journey  hither  was  quite  natural,  he,  having  some  eighteen 
years  before  felt  the  protecting  power  of  cotton  breastworks,  doubt- 
less had  a  great  curiosity  to  see  the  material  of  his  famous  fortifica- 
tions transformed  into  equally  famous  Merrimack  prints  and  sheet- 
ings by  these  intelligent  girls.  The  distinguished  party  was  received 
and  addressed  by  the  town  authorities,  and  the  president  responded. 
Triumphal  arches  of  evergreens,  banners,  and  flowers  had  been 
erected,  and  the  escort  was  composed  of  "the  selectmen,  committee 
of  arrangements,  Kirk  Boott,  chairman,  a  regiment  of  militia,  a 
cavalcade  of  two  hundred  citizens,  six  hundred  school  children,  and 
two  thousand  five  hundred  factory  girls."  As  each  girl  was  dressed 
in  holiday  attire  of  unrelieved  white,  the  vast  procession  of  Lowell's 
beauty  and  worth  made  a  deep  and  enduring  impression  on  all  who 
had  the  good  fortune  to  witness  it :  and  it  is  not  a  wonder  that  the 
Hero  of  New  Orleans,  who  had  often  met  and  overthrown  a  hostile 
foe,  should  evince  a  willingness  to  surrender  for  the  first  time,  with- 
out any  further  hostile  demonstration  from  this  all-conquering  array 
than  presenting  arms.  After  the  public  ceremonies,  a  number  of 
the  girls,  still  in  gala  dress,  repaired  to  the  Merrimack  Mills  and 
initiated  the  president  into  the  art  and  mystery  of  making  cotton 
cloth,  —  the  process  itself  demonstrating  the  immeasurable  difference 
between  the  application  of  this  staple  in  his  hands  to  the  necessities 
of  barbaric  war,  and  in  theirs  applied  to  pleasant  and  profitable  pur- 
suits of  peace.  M.  Chevalier,  an  intelligent  French  gentleman,  was 
of  the  president's  party,  and  the  splendid  pageant  made  a  deep  and 
lasting  impression  on  his  mind ;  and,  as  a  high  official  of  the  French 
government,  he  addressed  one  of  the  Massachusetts  senators  with  a 
view  to  securing  'the  attendance  of  a  group  of  those  operatives,  with 
the  necessary  machinery,  at  the  recent  Paris  Exposition,  where  the 
superb  New  England  factory  girl  at  her  vocation,  and  the  product 
of  her  skill  and  industry,  could  be  seen  together  by  a  world's  admir- 
ing representatives.  Thus  early  in  the  history  of  manufacturing  in 
this  country,  and  of  Lowell,  had  these  fair  daughters  acquired  a 
transatlantic  fame,  and  no  one  doubted,  however  visionary  and  ideal 
the  scheme,  and  uncertain  and  doubtful  the  results  of  its  founding,  it 
was  now  a  .veil-established  fact. 

Mr.  Hale,  without  a  clear  or  well-outlined  idea,  perhaps,  of  what 


ITS  SOUECE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  273 

was  to  be  accomplished,  though  with  a  settled  faith  that  his  purpose, 
still  only  faintly  outlined  in  his  own  mind,  would  mature,  and  the 
evidence  of  his  creative  genius  become  familiar  to  men  by  plain,  out- 
ward, and  visible  signs,  while  the  advantages  should  be  great,  and 
benefit  the  race  located  permanently  here.  Scarcely  more  than  a 
myth  himself,  and  his  project  a  kind  of  phantasy,  he  was  yet,  when 
securely  enthroned  on  this  then  solitary  spot,  the  embodiment  of 
the  Spirit  of  Progress,  —  the  wizard  who  should  wield  the  enchant- 
er's wand,  and  the  waste  places  were  to  be  occupied  by  a  people 
characterized  as  enterprising,  skilful,  industrious,  and  thrifty.  It 
was  not  long  before  his  very  eccentricity  assumed  a  tangible  and 
practical  shape,  and,  in  1795,  he  set  a  carding-mill  in  operation. 
Soon  after,  expressing  an  intention  to  extend  and  increase  his  busi- 
ness in  the  same  direction,  he  was  taken  aside  by  a  friend  and  gravely 
advised  to  desist,  as  the  capacity  of  the  works  already  in  operation 
was  sufficient  to  amply  accommodate  all  Middlesex  County,  and  such 
a  reckless  investment  would  not  only  exhibit  a  stupid  oversight,  and 
lack  of  judgment  and  sound  discretion,  but  would  involve  him  in 
inextricable  financial  ruin.  Nevertheless,  he  continued  to  increase 
his  business,  and  of  course  his  income.  Mr.  Hale  dug  a  canal  in 
Chelmsford,  which  was,  considered  as  an  individual  enterprise,  an 
operation  of  considerable  magnitude,  and  displayed  his  interest  and 
belief  in  internal  improvements.  It  is  said,  also,  that  he  conceived 
and  suggested  the  idea  of  constructing  another  canal,  which  was 
acted  upon  some  years  after,  the  canal  being  now  a  "power  in  the 
land."  Shops  and  mills  began  to  multiply  about  the  Wamesit  Falls, 
dwellings  followed  the  house  of  religious  worship,  and  the  court- 
house and  the  cemetery  have  appeared,  —  emblems  of  a  high  civili- 
zation. As  Lowell  rapidly  increased,  by  the  improvement  of  its 
splendid  water-power,  in  population  and  productiveness,  it  began  to 
attract  the  attention  of  economists  at  home  and  abroad,  and,  in 
1834,  an  agent  was  sent  to  the  United  States  by  the  "  Citizen 
King,"  to  inspect  the  public  works  of  this  country.  He  visited 
Lowell,  its  shops  and  factories,  and,  of  the  impressions  there  re- 
ceived, M.  Chevalier  wrote  to  the  Paris  "Journal  des  Debats  "  as 
follows :  — 

"  Unlike  the  cities  of  Europe,  which  were  built  by  some  demi- 
god, son  of  Jupiter,  or  by  some  hero  of  the  siege  of  Troy,  or  by  an 

35 


274  THE  MEEEINACK  EIVEB; 

inspiration  of, the  genius  of  a  Cresar  or  an  Alexander,  or  by  the 
assistance  of  some  holy  monk,  attracting  crowds  by  his  miracles,  or 
by  the  caprice  of  some  great  king,  like  Louis  XIV.,  or  Frederick, 
or  by  an  edict  of  Peter  the  Great,  it  (Lowell)  is  neither  a  pious 
foundation,  a  refuge  of  the  persecuted,  nor  a  military  post.  It  is  a 
speculation  of  the  merchants  of  Boston.  The  same  spirit  of  enter- 
prise which  the  last  year  suggested  to  them  to  send  a  cargo  of  ice  to 
Calcutta,  that  Lord  William  Bentwick  and  the  nabobs  of  the  India 
Company  might  drink  their  wine  cool,  has  led  them  to  build  a  city, 
wholly  at  their  expense,  with  all  the  edifices  required  by  an  advanced 
civilization,  for  the  purpose  of  manufacturing  cotton  cloths  and 
printed  calicoes.  They  have  succeeded,  as  they  usually  do,  in  their 
speculations.  The  inhabitants  possess  in  the  highest  degree  a  genius 
for  mechanics.  They  are  patient,  skilful,  full  of  invention ;  they 
must  increase  in  manufactures.  It  is,  in  fact,  already  done,  and 
Lowell  is  a  little  Manchester." 

In  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  head  of  the  falls,  on  the  Concord, 
is  situated  the  Lowell  cemetery,  —  the  beautiful  City  of  the  Dead, 
—  extensive  in  territorial  area,  romantic  in  its  surroundings  of  riv- 
er, hill,  forest,  and  field,  and  also  rich  in  ornamental  trees,  shrub- 
bery, and  flowers.  Its  avenues,  aisles,  and  graves  are  covered  with 
the  shadows  of  luxuriant  foliage,  and  fringed  with  shrubs,  plants, 
and  flowers ;  wild  birds  carol  sweetest  melody  among  the  trees,  in 
careless,  joyous,  unrestrained  freedom,  "so  clear,  that  men  and 
angels  might  delight  to  hear."  The  grounds  are  tastefully  laid  out 
and  adorned  with  luxuriant  shrubbery,  while  the  countless  cultivated 
annuals  which  fleck  the  surface,  and  the  sweet,  modest  little  wild 
blossoms  mingle  their  perfume  and  freight  the  air  with  delicious  fra- 
grance. The  hand  of  affection  has  inscribed  the  record  of  the  deeds 
and  worth  of  the  departed  on  tablets  of  stone  and  monuments  of 
enduring  marble;  a  deep  stillness,  an  all-pervading  quiet  —  save 
the  wind  rustling  the  foliage,  and  the  solemn  sighing  of  sombre 
perennials,  a  perpetual  requiem  —  rests  upon  the  place ;  a  silence 
such  as  might  be  gladly  sought  to  lull  one  to  eternal  repose,  enchant- 
ing prelude  to  that  final  sleep  that  knows  no  dream,  and  knows  no 
earthly  waking ;  a  symbol  of  the  solitude,  though  now  adorned  and 
beautified,  which  covered  all  this  realm  around  the  fine  falls  of  the 
Concord,  when  it  was  invaded  by  the  all-subduing  and  all-conquering 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  275 

Divinity  of  Mechanism,  in  the  time  long  agone.  And  though  Mr. 
Hale  has  departed,  and  many  others  have  gone,  and  the  populous 
village  of  silence,  of  shadows,  and  of  human  ashes,  have  come  of 
their  going,  still  the  places  they  vacated  have  been  filled  again  by 
active,  earnest,  living  souls,  and  his  mantle  has  fallen  upon  the 
shoulders  of,  and  is  gracefully  worn  by,  his  son  and  successor,  B.  S. 
Hale.  In  him  the  character  and  genius,  as  well  as  the  name,  are 
still  preserved.  The  spirit  which  was  once  so  potent  here  is  still 
believed  to  hover  around  and  furnish  inspiration.  Mr.  Hale  is 
largely  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  laid  cord,  —  a  most  conven- 
ient means  by  which  to  bind  the  aims  and  ends,  the  objects  and  in- 
terests of  mankind  together.  There  is  the  clock  cord,  which,  moving 
the  finger  on  the  dial,  tells  off  the  knell  of  time;  the  cord  "to  hold  as 
'twere  the  mirror  up  to  nature; "  the  picture-cord,  to  hold  the  shadow 
of  the  beloved  and  departed  substance  up  to  view ;  the  chalk-line, 
marking  the  right  line  of  duty  which  every  man  should  hew  square 
up  to ;  the  fish-line,  suggesting  how,  with  gilded  lure,  the  evil  one  is 
said  to  angle  for  the  souls  —  and  bodies — of  those  he  has  already  set 
his  mark  upon.  Formerly  the  method  of  laying  cord  was  by  hand,  and 
many  inventions  have  been  devised  to  render  the  manufacture  more 
rapid,  but  the  cord  was  laid  irregular  and  uneven,  and  no  permanent 
success  attended  the  invention  of  machinery  for  this  purpose  until 
Mr.  Hale  perfected  the  machines  now  in  operation  at  his  mill,  by 
which  the  cord  is  laid  more  uniform  than  even  by  hand.  Thus  has 
the  Concord,  when  its  course  is  nearly  run.  accomplished  its  redemp- 
tion, and,  as  a  man's  life  is  often  likened  to  a  river,  it  may  be  well  for 
those  who  can,  to  redeem,  as  the  Concord  has,  a  vagabond  character, 
even  at  the  eleventh  hour,  and  thus  maintain  the  parallel. 

The  Wameset  Water-Power  Company  having  purchased  (February 
7)  the  balance  of  the  unimproved  power  at  Whipple's  Falls  of  E.  B. 
Patch,  Esq..  the  company  was  organized  May  20,  1865,  as  follows  : 
Hon.  Tappan  Wentworth,  President;  Gen.  B.  F.  Butler,  Treasurer; 
D.  C.  G.  Field,  Agent ;  capital,  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dol- 
lars. The  company  set  about  utilizing  the  power  with  great  activity, 
and  the  genius  of  a  master  mind  was  seen  on  every  hand.  A  sub- 
stantial brick  mill  has  been  erected  (four  stories),  occupied  by  the 
United  States  Bunting  Company  and  Wamesit  Worsted  Company  ; 
a  stone  mill  (two  stories),  by  the  United  States  Cartridge  Company, 


276  THE  MEEEIMACK  E1VER; 

fixed  ammunition;  a  stone  mill  (four  stories),  Worsted  Company;  a 
•wooden  mill  (two  stories),  carpets  and  dry  house;  also,  a  large 
boarding-house.  These  mills  are  driven  by  two  turbine  wheels  of 
two  hundred  and  thirty-one  horse-power,  with  a  reserve  engine  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  horse-power,  to  be  used  in  the  event  of  low  water. 
Two  boilers,  five  feet  in  diameter  and  sixteen  feet  in  length,  each  with 
eighty  tubes,  supply  the  steam.  A  branch  of  the  Boston  and  Lowell 
Railroad  affords  easy  transportation  directly  to  and  from  the  mills. 
It  has  been  found  that  much  of  the  available  power  is  lost  by  the 
incapacity  of  the  canal,  and  a  saving  enlargement  is  projected  the 
coming  season,  so  that  mechanics  of  all  kinds  can  here  find  permanent 
room  and  power  to  prosecute  their  business,  which  will  ultimately 
build  up  around  these  falls  a  large  and  important  manufacturing 
village. 

The  political  and  military  history  of  Gen.  B.  R  Butler  is  well 
known  to  the  world,  but  of  his  extensive  engagement  in  the  pleas- 
ant, peaceful  pursuits  which  adorn,  dignify,  and  enrich  a  community, 
little,  perhaps  too  little,  is  known  to  the  general  public.  Upon  the 
reorganization  of  the  defunct  Middlesex  Company,  Gen.  Butler  be- 
came a  large  purchaser  of  the  new  stock,  and,  with  his  characteristic 
energy,  devoted  much  time  to  the  practical  details  of  manufacturing. 
When  the  Whipple  Falls  property  was  put  in  the  market,  Gen.  But- 
ler, seeing  its  real  value  and  importance  for  manufacturing  and  me- 
chanical purposes,  lost  no  time  in  securing  it  on  his  own  account, 
and  forthwith  adopted  measures  for  the  founding  of  those  enterprises 
which  have  already  added  largely  to  the  business  and  prosperity  of 
Lowell,  and  places  Gen.  Butler  among  the  leading  and  successful 
manufacturers  of  New  England,  while  it  presents  him  as  a  promoter 
and  patron  of  those  arts  which,  while  they  give  comfort,  industry, 
and  thrift  to  a  community,  afford  additional  stability  and  perpetuity 
to  its  institutions.  Men  of  great  means  are  not  always  men  of  great 
deeds,  and  it  is  certainly  refreshing  to  contemplate  a  public-spirited 
and  liberal  man  whose  means  are  equal  to  his  disposition,  and  who, 
in  his  investments,  has  the  sagacity  to  discriminate  in  favor  of  such 
substantial  interests  as  will  surely  tend  to  the  present  and  prospect- 
tive  advantage  of  the  place  and  the  people.  The  difference  between  a 
Comprehensive  and  a  superficial  mind  is  as  marked  as  between  the 
generous  and  sordid,  and  is  patent  to  all.  While  the  one  is  satisfied 


ITS  FJVRCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  277 

"with  a  resort  to  temporary  shifts  and  expedients,  the  other  builds  on. 
a  solid  foundation,  which  is  not  only  a  warrant  for  current  profit,  but 
a  bond  for  future  premiums  and  dividends  on  such  judicious  invest- 
ments. The  great  hydraulic  power  of  this  fall  was  well  known,  but 
the  expenditures  necessary  to  its  productiveness,  for  mills,  machinery, 
appliances,  and  stock,  before  the  dollar  could  return  to  their  pockets 
was  too  appalling  for  some  gentlemen,  who  decided  to  cling  to  their 
bonds  and  greenbacks,  and  it  was  not  until  Gen.  Butler,  on  a  brief 
visit  from  the  "  tented  field,"  learned  it  was  in  the  market,  when  he 
purchased  it,  and  initiated  measures  which  must  not  only  advance 
the  growth  and  character  of  the  city,  but  "put  money  in  his  purse" 
for  many  years  to  come.  He  being  the  principal  owner  exercises  a 
controlling  influence  over  the  operations  of  the  company,  and,  having 
selected  a  gentleman  of  peculiar  fitness  for  acting  manager,  in  the 
person  of  MJC.  Field,  this  company  is  now  on  the  road  to  prosperity, 
and  bids  fair  to  become  one  of  the  most  prosperous  and  noted  compa- 
nies along  the  Merrimack.  In  the  brief  history  of  this  company, 
here  given.,  Gen.  Butler  is  seen  as  a  practical  manufacturer,  and, 
however  opinions  may  differ  on  other  points,  there  will  be  a  unanimity 
in  the  recognition  of  the  great  credit  which  attaches  to  him  for  his 
energy.  Comprehensive  views,  for  his  wise  and  liberal  use  of  an  ample 
fortune  for  his  active  public  spirit,  exhibited  in  building  up  the  in- 
dustrial interests  of  his  adopted  city,  and  his  generous  liberality  in 
the  projnotion  of  her  general  welfare. 

The  United  States  Bunting  Company,  one  of  the  enterprises 
originated  since  the  Butler  purchase,  is  deserving  of  special  notice. 
Previous  to  the  establishment  of  its  works  the  manufacture  of  Amer- 
ean  flags  from  an  American  fabric  did  not  exist  in  the  United  States, 
all  bunting  having  been  previously  imported.  No  American  ship  or 
American  soldier  had  ever  fought  a  battle  under  a  flag  of  American 
manufacture.  Many  attempts  had  been  made  to  produce  it,  but 
without  success.  At  the  solicitation  of  several  of  the  government 
departments,  and  encouraged  by  the  act  of  Congress  of  1865,  em- 
powering heads  of  the  several  bureaus  to  purchase  bunting  of  Ameri- 
can manufacture  at  the  same  price  as  the  imported  article,  several 
gentlemen  in  Lowell  associated  for  its  manufacture.  After  many 
experiments  they  succeeded  in  making  an  article  of  American  bunt- 
ing, which,  after  being  put  to  the  severest  test,  was  certified  by  the 


278  THE  MEERIMACK  RIVER; 

officers  of  the  Navigation  Bureau  of  the  Navy  Department  to  be 
superior  to  the  English  manufacture  in  texture,  material,  color,  and 
durability.  Since  then  the  bunting  of  this  company  has  been  used 
by  all  the  government  departments,  to  the  exclusion  of  foreign  manu- 
factures. Stimulated  by  their  success,  this  company  has  erected 
large  and  permanent  mills,  and  supplied  themselves  with  requisite 
machinery  of  sufficient  capacity  to  supply  the  wants  of  the  American 
people. 

During  the  progress  of  this  manufacture  this  company  has  made 
many  improvements  in  the  fabric  and  the  machinery  for  its  manu- 
facture. One  of  the  most  prominent  is  the  manufacture  of  bunting 
with  the  requisite  colors  without  sewing.  Heretofore  the  stars  of 
the  union  have  been  cut  from  cotton  cloth  and  sewed  to  bunting,  and 
the  stripes  cut  from  the  wide  bunting  and  stitched  together.  About 
two  years  ago,  at  the  suggestion  of  a  gentleman  occupying  a  position 
at  the  head  of  one  of  the  principal  bureaus  of  the  government,  the 
manager  of  this  company  undertook  to  manufacture  a  flag  having  the 
stars  and  stripes  fully  and  firmly  shown  without  the  aid  of  sewing. 
After  many  attempts  and  failures,  and  stimulated  by  the  encourage- 
ment of  many  officers  high  in  rank  in  both  the  army  and  navy,  he 
has  succeeded  in  producing  flags  of  great  beauty,  durability,  and  ex- 
treme lightness.  The  manufacture  of  pendants,  signals,  and  banners 
is  soon  to  be  added.  This  company  has  been  from  the  commence- 
ment, and  still  is,  under  the  management  of  Mr.  D.  W.  C.  Farring- 
ton,  who  is  also  agent  of  the  company ;  and  to  Lowell  belongs  the 
honor  of  having  inaugurated  this  patriotic  and  praiseworthy  branch 
of  industry  in  the  United  States.  This  company  is  also  erecting 
machinery  for  the  purpose  of  developing  the  manufacture  of  damasks, 
moreens,  and  other  worsted  fabrics. 

In  the  same  locality  are  also  the  works  of  the  Wamesit  Worsted 
Company,  which  is  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  fine  worsted  yarns, 
consuming  about  two  hundred  thousand  pounds  of  wool  annually ; 
also  those  of  the  United  States  Cartridge  Company,  which  have 
recently  been  established  for  the  manufacture  of  all  kinds  of  fixed 
ammunition  for  breech-loading  guns.  These  two  last  companies  were 
organized  in,  1868,  and  are  under  the  management  of  Mr.  D.  W.  C. 
Farrington,  who  is  the  agent  for  all  these  works. 

There  is  also  an  individual  enterprise  at  this  place  entitled  to  par- 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TBIBUTARIES.  279 

ticular  notice.  A  stone  shop  has  been  erected  and  furnished  with 
the  best  machinery  and  very  superior  mechanical  skill,  devoted  to 
experiments  in  the  improvement  of  fire-arms.  This  business  is  under 
the  supervision  of  Capt.  J.  V.  Meigs,  a  Tennesseean,  and  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  inventors  of  this  prolific  age.  Heretofore  it  has 
been  the  most  difficult  stifdy  and  problem  with  inventors  to  accel- 
erate mechanical  motion  so  as  to  approximate  to  the  rapidity  of  the 
ignition  of  gunpowder,  and  with  what  success  is  well  known.  Capt. 
Meigs  has,  however,  adopted  a  different  policy.  He  has  first  in- 
creased the  rapidity  of  ignition  to  the  extreme  bound  of  perfect  safety 
by  delivering  the  blow  at  the  point  most  likely  to  produce  instanta- 
neous and  complete  combustion  of  the  whole  charge,  and  then,  by  his 
marvellous  skill  at  mechanical  combination,  adjusted  the  speed  of  the 
explosive  motion  of  the  lock  properly  to  meet  the  demand  for  rapidity 
of  discharge,  and  its  terribly  fatal  efficiency  is  exhibited  by  the  pos- 
sibility of  the  astonishing  rapidity  of  fifty  shots  in  nineteen  seconds, 
still  preserving  its  strength,  durability,  cheapness,  effectiveness,  and 
comfort  in  handling.  Compared  with  this  arm  the  famous  needle 
gun  is  but  a  cross-bow ;  and,  paradoxical  as  it  may  appear,  this 
weapon  of  destruction  must  prove  a  life-preserver,  as  any  struggle 
of  arms,  after  the  adoption  of  this  gun,  must  be  short,  sharp,  and 
decisive.  Capt.  Meigs  has  invented  two  guns,  one  new  and  the  other 
an  alteration,  both  of  which  have  received  the  approbation  of  military 
committees  and  gentlemen,  as  well  as  gold  medals  and  other  awards 
for  superiority.  In  the  perfection  of  this  arm  it  was  found  that  ordi- 
nary ammunition  was  unsafe,  improperly  made,  and  inefficient ;  and 
to  remove  this  difficulty  he  invented  new  cartridges,  which  combine 
every  desirable  quality;  and  for  their  manufacture,  and  all  other 
kinds  of  fixed  ammunition,  the  United  States  Cartridge  Company 
was  established.  Charles  K.  Farmer,  Esq.,  formerly  of  the  Spring- 
field (Mass.)  Armory ,  is  superintendent.  Capt.  Meigs  has  also 
brought  out  other  important  inventions ;  indeed,  the  fertility  of  his 
genius  seems  inexhaustible.  Original  minds,  discoverers,  and  invent- 
ors have  always  been  honored  and  esteemed ;  and,  while  these  dis- 
tinctions await  Capt.  Meigs,  it  is  but  just  to  remark  that  his  genial 
qualities,  his  fund  of  generosity  and  humor,  and  all  the  elements  of 
a  distinguished  and  high-toned  gentleman,  mark  him  as  eminently 
entitled  to  the  consideration  of  lis  fellow-countrymen. 


280  THE  MEREIMACK  EIVER; 

Some  of  the  other  enterprises  around  these  falls  are  as  follows 
American  Bolt  Company,  S.  Hope,  R.  H.  Butcher,  and  J.  Winter, 
capital  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  consume  two  thousand  tons  iron 
and  produce  five  million  bolts  per  year ;  employ  one  hundred  hands. 
Belvidere  Woollen  Company,  capital  one  hundred  thousand  dollars, 
plain  and  twilled  and  fancy  goods,  product  seven  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  yards  per  year;  employ  eighty  hands.  S.  W.  Faulkner's 
Mills,  capital  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  produce  two  hundred 
and  forty  thousand  yards  plain  and  twilled  fancy  goods  and  cassi- 
meres,  and  fifty  thousand  yards  fine  Cashmeres,  use  two  hundred 
thousand  pounds  wool  per  year.  John  Walsh,  fine  worsted  yarns, 
one  thousand  spindles,  use  two  hundred  and  forty  pounds  wool 
daily;  thirty  hands.  S.  R.  Brackett,  fine  worsted,  two  hundred 
and  sixty  pounds  wool  daily,  one  thousand  four  hundred  spindles ; 
thirty  hands. 

Many  years  since,  Mr.  Nathan  Ames  established  business  at  Mas- 
sic  Falls,  which  was  afterwards  carried  on  by  the  firm  of  Ames  & 
Fisher.  The  sons  of  Mr.  Ames  have  since  become  celebrated  as 
manufacturers  of  arms  at  Springfield.  Mr.  Artemas  Young  followed 
Ames  &  Fisher,  and  built  a  brick  mill  on  the  site  of  the  old  Ames 
shop  for  manufacturing  cloth ;  but  failing  in  the  completion  of  this 
enterprise,  Mr.  P.  0.  Richmond  obtained  possession,  and  established 
batting  and  paper  mills,  which  he  carried  on  successfully  many  years. 
The  brick  mill  is  now  operated  by  Mr.  William  Walker,  who  manu- 
factures woollens.  In  1834,  a  shop  was  built  on  the  island  near  the 
dam  at  Massic  Falls.  This  building  was  occupied  by  George  & 
Ephraim  Crosby,  but,  being  destroyed  by  fire  not  long  after  its  occu- 
pation, it  was  not  rebuilt.  Previous  to  the  year  1813  there  was  a 
saw-mill,  owned  by  one  Mr.  Tyler,  on  the  site  of  the  mill  which  was 
erected  in  that  year  by  Messrs.  Ph'ineas  Whiting  and  Josiah  Fletcher, 
who  also  built  the  dam  the  same  year  at  this  place,  which  is  known 
as  Wamesit  Falls.  Previous  to  this  period  that  part  of  Belvidere 
lying  between  Fayette  Street  and  the  Concord  River  was  an  island, 
and  there  are  those  still  living  who  have,  floating  in  their  light  canoe, 
circumnavigated  this  now  busy  territory.  In  1818,  Messrs.  Whi- 
ting &  Fletcher  sold  and  conveyed  all  their  right,  title,  and  interest 
to  and  in  the  water-power  and  adjacent  lands  to  an  enterprising  gen- 
tleman from  Charlestown,  Mass.,  Mr.  Thomas  Hurd,  who  converted 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  281 

this  mill  into  a  woollen  factory,  and  produced  the  first  satinet  goods 
which  were  woven  by  the  power-loom  in  this  country. 

Mr.  Hurd  was  one  of  those  sagacious  and  scheming  men  who  seek, 
and  whose  keen  sense  discovers  .and  appreciates  an  advantage,  while 
other  men  rub  their  eyes  and  listlessly  wonder  what  he  is  doing. 
(Not  satisfied  with  the  control  of  this  power,  and  seeing  the  advan- 
tage of  possessing  the  great  power  at  the  Pawtucket  Falls,  he  pur- 
chased lands  on  either  side  of  the  latter,  and  put  a  grindstone,  or 
some  other  simple  machinery  driven  by  a  water-wheel,  in  motion,  to 
establish  his  right  to  the  privilege,  and  in  1826  put  up  a  mill  at  the 
foot  of  the  falls,  apparently  with  the  design  to  manufacture  yarn  or 
cloth ;  but  his  woollen  mill  on  the  Concord  River  having  been  de- 
stroyed by  fire  the  same  year,  the  mill  just  erected  at  the  foot  of 
Pawtucket  Falls  was  taken  down  and  rebuilt  on  the  site  of  the  one 
which  was  burned.  A  portion  of  the  old  foundation  of  this  mill  is 
still  standing  (1868)  at  the  foot  of  Pawtucket  Falls, — an  interesting 
relic  of  the  enterprise  of  one  of  those  men  who  have  left  an  honorable 
record  in  the  history  of  Lowell.  In  the  march  of  improvement  this 
mill  in  its  turn  gave  way  to  a  substantial  brick  mill,  built  by  the 
Middlesex  Company  on  its  site.  Mr.  Hurd  also  built  and  operated 
a  brick  mill,  obtaining  power  from  the  Concord  River  by  means  of  a 
canal,  which  followed  the  course  of  "Warren  Street,  a  little  to  the 
right  of  it,  but  finding  there  was  a  scarcity  of  water  in  dry  seasons 
in  the  Concord  River,  a  canal  was  dug  from  the  foot  of  the  Hamilton 
Canal,  crossing  Central  Street,  and  passing  to  the  rear  and  south 
side  of  Hurd  Street,  discharged  its  waters  into  the  other  canal  be- 
tween the  two  mills,  thus  securing  a  full  supply  of  water  at  all  sea- 
sons. Eventually  Mr.  Kurd's  interest  in  the  water-power  at  the 
Pawtucket  Falls  was  disposed  of  to  the  Lock  and  Canal  Corporation, 
when  this  auxiliary  canal,  which  drew  from  the  Merrimack,  was 
discontinued  and  filled  up.  This  latter  canal  will  be  remembered  by 
many  old  residents  of  Lowell  as  the  means  and  place  selected  by  a 
Mr.  Callender  and  Mr.  Whipple  voluntarily  and  most  conven- 
iently to  "  shuffle  off  this  mortal  coil."  In  1821,  Mr.  Hurd  sold  the 
land  and  a  water  privilege  on  the  east  side  of  Concord  River,  com- 
prising what  is  now  called  Belvidere  Village  (the  island),  to  Mr. 
Winthrop  Howe,  who  built  a  mill,  and  disposed  of  the  surplus  power 
to  other  parties,  and  quite  a  little  cluster  of  shops  eventually  started 
36 


282  TEE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

up  and  are  now  in  active  operation  in  the  vicinity.  A  flannel-mill, 
belonging  to  the  Belvidere  Woollen  Company,  now  occupies  the  site, 
and  is  operated  by  the  same  power  as  the  Howe  mill,  which  was 
destroyed  by  fire  some  years  since. 

Prior  to  the  construction  of  the  Lawrence  dam,  in  the  glorious 
days  when  the  salmon  and  shad  had  an  unobstructed  passage  up  the 
Merrimack,  there  was  famous  shad  fishing  from  the  foot  of  Wamesit 
Falls  to  the  mouth  of  the  river,  —  a  gentleman  still  living  having  seen 
Capt.  Whiting  on  one  occasion  make  a  miraculous  haul.  The  seine 
was  hauled  on  the  spot  directly  between  where  Nos.  2  and  3,  Mid- 
dlesex Mills,  now  stand,  and  the^  fare  was  so  large  that  boat-loads 
were  taken  from  the  net  before  it  coujd  be  hauled  in.  A  large  raft 
Was  then  constructed  and  boarded  up  several  feet  high  at  the  sides, 
and  the  shad  were  placed  in  it  and  shipped  for  Newburyport ;  but, 
alas  for  human  calculations !  the  raft  grounded  on  an  obtrusive 
boulder  while  running  Hunt's  Falls,  and  each  individual  item  of  the 
large  cargo  returned  to  its  native  element.  The  territory  adjoining 
this  fall,  and  in  its  immediate  vicinity,  mainly  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Concord,  extending  along  that  river  to  its  confluence  with  the  Mer- 
rimack and  down  the  latter  for  a  considerable  distance,  was  the  rec- 
ognized home  or  head-quarters  of  the  tribe  whose  name  it  still  bears. 
Around  these  falls,  on  the  very  spot  where  mills  and  mechanics' 
shops  now  daily  resound  with  the  pleasant  hum  and  din  of  industry, 
once  stood  their  villages.  A  feeble  tribe,  and  not  a  cannon-shot  dis- 
tant from  their  Pawtucket  neighbors,  they  yet  lived  in  security  and 
peace.  Under  the  immediate  control  of  a  subordinate  chief,  they 
nevertheless  depended  upon  the  Pennacookr  confederacy,  to  which 
they  belonged,  for  protection,  and  leaned  on  the  strong  arm  of  Pas- 
saconnaway,  their  Bashaba,  for  support,  and  after  him  Wonnalancet, 
whom,  after  the  shameless  outrages  perpetrated  upon  them  by  some 
evil-disposed  people  of  Chelmsford,  and  being  reduced  to  a  mere  rem- 
nant of  a  few  dozen  poor,  forlorn  Indians,  they  followed  to  the  north 
country,  and  thus  finally  and  forever  disappeared  from  the  Concord 
River.  It  is  claimed  by  those  who  should  be  the  best  authority  that 
Passaconnaway  lived  to  a  very  advanced  age,  many  years  after  his 
son  assumed  his  duties  and  position.  Gookin  declares  he  saw  him  at 
Pawtucket  when  he  had  reached  the  patriarchal  age  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty  years;  and,  in  "Tales  of  the  Indians,"  he  is  repre- 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  283 

sented,  in  1682,  as  being  at  Agamenticus,  in  Maine, — identical  with 
Aspinquid,  —  several  years  after  Gookin  wrote.  Here  it  was  that 
Gookin,  to  further  the  ends  of  justice,  in  those  primitive  days  held 
his  court,  trying  causes  and  meting  out  "equal  and  exact"  justice 
with  dignity  and  gravity.  Here,  too,  the  pious  Elliot,  in  his  little 
log  chapel,  preached  "peace  on  earth  and  good-will  to  man,"  while 
stalwart  savages,  steeped  to  the  eyebrows  in  Paganism,  listened  with 
unction,  if  not  compunction,  and  stupid  decorum,  shrugging  their 
shoulders  as  they  retired  at  the  disparity  of  the  preaching  and  prac- 
tices of  the  pale-face. 

The  Merrimack  River,  at  Lowell,  is  spanned  by  two  bridges,  — 
one  at  Pawtucket  Falls,  the  other  leading  to  Central  Village,  which 
formerly  belonged  to  the  town  of  Dracut,  but  was  annexed  to  Lowell 
some  twenty  years  since.  This  last  bridge  was  rebuilt  a  few  years 
ago  at  a  cost  of  about  thirty-five  thousand  dollars. 


284  THE  MEEEIMACK  EIVEE; 


CHAPTER    XI. 

Pentuoket  Navigation  Company.  —  Nicholas  G.  Norcross.  —  Andover.  —  Methuen.  —  Tb.« 
Spicket.  —  Lawrence.  —  History  of  its  Manufactures.  —  Bradford.  —  Little  River.  — 
Haverhill.  —  The  Pow- Wow.  —  Amesbury.  —  History  of  its  Manufactures.  —  New- 
bury.  — Salisbury.  —  Newburyport.  —  Plum  Island.  —  Seabrook.  —  Conclusion. 

THE  improvements  made  in  the  channel  of  the  Merrimack  to  fa- 
cilitate its  navigation  have  been  extensive,  but  mostly  accomplished 
by  individual  enterprise.  Many  business  men,  who  have  required 
the  river  as  a  means  of  transit  for  heavy  freight,  lumber,  rafts,  and 
boats,  have  been  obliged,  at  first,  to  make  a  heavy  outlay  for  this 
purpose.  Many  gentlemen,  knowing  the  great  importance  of  this 
stream  as  a  thoroughfare  and  means  of  transportation,  have  endeav- 
ored to  secure  organized  and  systematic  action  with  larger  means ; 
but  it  was  not  until  John  Nesmith,  Esq.,  of  Lowell,  who  was  born 
by  the  side  of  the  Merrimack,  and  who,  during  a  long  and  successful 
business  career,  has  been  intimately  connected  with  it,  —  not  until 
he  took  hold  of  the  project  was  much  of  real  progress  made.  In 
1867,  John  Nesmith  and  others  petitioned  the  Legislature,  and  were 
incorporated  as  the  Pentucket  Navigation  Improvement  Company. 
The  object  of  this  company  was  to  provide  a  cheap  and  convenient 
outlet  for  accumulating  freights  of  merchandise  and  perhaps  to  reduce 
the  burdensome  monopoly  enjoyed  by  the  railroads.  To  accomplish 
this  purpose,  or  to  guarantee  any  chance  of  success,  it  had  been 
found  necessary  to  unite  and  put  forth  the  efforts  and  means  which 
nothing  less  than  a  heavy  corporation  could  furnish.  The  Legisla- 
ture granted  a  charter  the  year  mentioned,  but  it  was  absurdly 
hampered  with  such  restrictions  and  limitations  as  had  the  effect  to 
render  the  possession  of  the  charter  of  no  use  whatever.  The  United 
States  Government,  it  was  confidently  expected,  would  make  appro- 
priations for  tide-water  improvements,  while  from  that  point  the 
company  should  make  the  river  navigable  for  light-draught  boats  to 
the  important  city  of  Lowell,  in  the  whole  a  distance  of  more  than 


ITS  SOUECE  AND  ITS  TEIBUTAEIES.  285 

thirty  miles.  The  charter  required  that  the  company  should  push 
its  business  so  rapidly  that  vessels  of  twenty  or  more  tons  could 
'reach  Hunt's  Falls,  near  Lowell,  at  the  ordinary  stages  of  the  water, 
within  three  years.  The  company,  foreseeing  that  it  could  not  be 
done,  did  not  make  the  attempt,  but  has  confined  its  efforts  to  secur- 
ing the  removal  of  these  legislative  restrictions.  Should  this,  very 
properly,  be  done,  the  company  will  then  be  in  condition  to  accom- 
plish a  work  of  great  value  to  all  whose  business  is  much  with  or  on 
the  river.  The  current  of  the  Merrimack  is  so  rapid  and  strong  as 
to  necessitate  a  continual  and  extensive  outlay  of  labor  and  capital 
to  maintain  an  available  ship  channel.  Added  to  this,  much  of  the 
business  done  on  the  river  1ms  the  effect  to  increase  its  natural  ten- 
dency to  obstruct  or  obliterate  any  artificial  channel.  Its  annual, 
often  semi-annual,  rise  of  twenty  or  more  feet,  the  snags  and  drift- 
wood brought  down  by  these  resistless  floods,  the  constant  fretting 
of  the  banks,  the  washing  in  of  vast  deposits,  the  constant  plying  of 
heavy  boats,  barges,  and  rafts,  and  the  annual  "drive"  of  many 
millions  feet  of  saw-logs,  all  conspire  to  affect  the  channel  more  or 
less.  Of  this  last  great  business,  the  lumber  trade,  a  brief  historical 
sketch  cannot  fail  to  be  interesting. 

In  1844,  Nicholas  G.  Norcross,  who  had  already  made  himself 
rich,  and  earned  the  title  of  "The  New  England  Timber  King,"  on 
the  Penobscot,  came  to  Lowell  and  established  himself  permanently 
on  the  Merrimack.  Prior  to  that  time  timber  had  been  brought 
down  in  rafts,  locking  around  the  falls ;  altogether  a  slow  and  te- 
dious process.  Mr.  Norcross  prefaced  his  operations  by  the  outlay 
of  more  than  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  improving  the  channel 
and  adapting  it  to  his  purposes.  He  blasted  rocks  and  removed  ob- 
structions, bought  land  and  provided  for  the  stringing  of  booms  for 
timber  harbors,  bought  rights  on  some  of  the  important  falls,  built 
two  dams  on  the  Pemigewasset  at  Woodstock,  and  purchased  tho 
Elkins  grant  of  eighty  thousand  acres  of  heavy  timber  adjoining 
the  above-named  town,  Lincoln,  and  several  others.  He  also  bought 
a  tract  of  forty  thousand  acres  in  the  ungranted  lands  of  New  Hamp- 
shire, and  several  other  tracts.  Having  prepared  the  river  to  receive 
the  logs  and  for  the  "drive,"  the  mode  of  proceeding  was  to  repair 
to  the  timber  forests  with  a  force  of  choppers,  some  one  hundred  and 
fifty  or  two  hundred  men,  cut  and  haul  the  logs  for  the  coming 


286  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

9 
"drive,"  which  usually  commenced  about  the  middle  of  April ;  the 

annual  "drive"  varied  from  eight  to  fourteen  millions  feet.  A 
store  was  opened  by  the  manager,  from  which  the  commissary  of  the 
force  drew  all  supplies.  Large,  warm  log  barns  were  erected  to 
shelter  the  large  number  of  oxen  used,  and  hay  and  feed  were  pur- 
chased of  the  farmers  in  the  nearest  settlements.  The  logs  afloat, 
and  the  woodsmen  became  amphibious  and  took  to  the  river.  As  the 
logs  send  off,  the  river  becomes  a  scene  of  picturesque  beauty,  and  as 
it  is  with  humanity  so  it  is  with  these  logs,  —  they  cannot  all  "head 
the  procession ; ' '  some  strike  a  more  rapid  current  than  others,  some 
meet  with  obstructions  by  which  their  advance  is  retarded  or  sus- 
pended, but  the  van  moves  steadily  and  rapidly  on,  and  soon  the 
river  surface  is  thickly  dotted  with  logs  for  a  distance  of  from  thirty 
to  fifty  miles.  The  force  is  divided  into  "  gangs,"  or  "  teams,"  and, 
under  the  lead  of  experienced  river-men,  proceed  to  the  principal 
falls  and  rapids,  where  the  chief  difficulties  of  the  drift  are  generally, 
experienced,  a  small  force  following,  as  a  rear-guard,  to  push  off  any 
stragglers  that  may  have  been  crowded  ashore  or  grounded  on  some 
unseen  obstruction.  "Running  the  falls"  is  a  wild,  exciting,  and 
very  interesting  spectacle,  lasting  many  days.  Sweeping  towards 
the  head  of  the  falls  like  a  vast  host  in  solid  column,  or  like  an 
Alpine  avalanche,  they  plunge  down  the  roaring,  boiling,  seething 
rapids  in  furious,  headlong  haste;  the  narrow  gorges  between  the 
projecting  ledges  are  choked  with  them  ;  they  are  thrown  over  and 
across  each  other,  sometimes  assuming  a  perpendicular  attitude  and 
falling  with  a  tremendous  crash  and  plash.  Sometimes  a  single  log 
gets  arrested  by  the  outcropping  ledge,  and,  being  securely  held,  be- 
comes a  literal  stumbling-block  to  others,  and  soon  a  huge  "jam"  is 
collected  and  tightly  held,  —  a  thousand  logs,  more  or  less,  piled  up 
without  regard  to  system,  as  though  prepared  for  a  huge  bonfire. 
Now  is  the  time  when  the  skill  and  daring  of  the  "drivers"  become 
conspicuous ;  with  the  agility  of  squirrels  they  cross  the  rapids  on 
the  moving  mass  and  gain  the  pile  which  has  been  crowded  out  to 
cut  it  adrift.  Experience  points  out  the  stick  which  holds  them  fast 
and  prevents  the  whole  from  moving  on,  and  not  unfrequently,  by  a 
vigorous  push  with  the  levers  or  pike-poles  «i  the  right  place,  or  a 
few  strokes  of  the  axe,  the  "jam  "  breaks  loose,  again  falls  into  line, 
and  moves  rapidly  on.  Each  man  takes  to  a  log,  and  navigates  to  a 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  287 

place  bi.  safety,  not  hugging  it  after  the  manner  of  embracing  a 
friendly  lamp-post,  but  standing  erect,  and,  if  the  logs  are  rolled  by 
the  undertow,  they  retain  their  position  upon  the  highest  exposed 
convexity  by  moving  their  feet,  and  thus,  while  they  easily  maintain 
a  position  on  the  exposed  surface,  offer  no  objection  to  its  revolution. 
The  view  of  the  men  in  active  duty  upon  any  of  the  great  falls  on 
the  river  is  picturesque  and  interesting.  Moving  actively  about  in  a 
uniform  of  gray  and  red,  jumping  from  log  to  log;  or  boldly  floating 
through  the  turbulent  waters  on  this  narrow  craft,  the  river  every- 
where filled  with  moving  timber,  running  the  falls  is  a  picture  worth 
looking  upon. 

In  1845,  Mr.  Norcross  built  a  large  lumber-mill  at  Lowell,  where, 
with  "  gangs  "  of  saws,  upright  and  circular,  he  wrought  out  much 
of  the  lumber  for  the  mills  and  the  dwellings  of  the  city.  This  mill 
was  twice  destroyed  by  fire,  but  was  soon  rebuilt.  He  also  built  a 
large  mill  at  Lawrence,  which  was  managed  by  his  brother,  J .  W. 
Norcross.  Mr.  Norcross  died  in  1860,  since  which  time  the  busi- 
ness has  been  conducted  by  I.  W.  Norcross,  Charles  W.  Saunders, 
and  N.  W.  Norcross.  While  engaged  in  the  lumber  business  a  finan- 
cial crisis,  such  as  business  men  often  experience,  overtook  Mr.  Nor- 
cross, arid,  with  a  view  to  the  continued  prosecution  of  the  trade,  a 
company  was  formed,  consisting  of  N.  G.  and  I.  W.  Norcross,  John 
Nesmith,  Abner  Buttrick,  H.  Pillsbury,  William  Fiske,  and  others, 
called  the  Merrimack  River  Lumber  Company ;  but  the  management 
of  the  lumber  trade  seems  to  have  again  reverted  to  the  original 
hands,  and  is  now  conducted  by  Norcross  &  Saunders. 

Mr.  Norcross  was  a  remarkably  energetic  business  man.  Quick 
to  see,  and  prompt  to  decide  and  act,  his  years  were  crowded  with 
stirring  events.  In  the  prosecution  of  great  enterprises  like  this  on 
the  Merrimack,  he  had  the  sagacity  to  comprehend  the  situation, 
and  by  a  liberal  investment  of  labor  and  capital  laid  a  substantial 
foundation  for  ultimate  success,  which  is  its  surest  guaranty. 

With  frequent  high  water,  a  strong  and  rapid  current,  tlje  strong 
force  of  pressure  and  displacement  occasioned  by  the  plying  of  river 
craft,  the  conveyance  of  the  immense  lumber  drives,  and  many 
other  causes,  it  would  seem  very  clear  that  the  Pentucket  Company, 
with  the  proper  legislative  encouragement,  would  be  an  untold  ad- 
vantage to  the  business  of  the  Merrimack  River. 


288  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

Andover  was  settled  in  1643,  and  incorporated  five  years  later. 
It  is  watered  by  the  Shawsheen  River,  a  tributary  of  the  Merrimack, 
having  its  confluence  on  the  right  bank  at  Lawrence,  and  there  are 
excellent  facilities  for  manufacturing,  which  are  extensively  im- 
proved. There  is  a  celebrated  Theological  Institution,  and  other 
institutions  for  educational  purposes  of  a  high  character  located 
here. 

.  Methuen  is  situated  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Merrimack,  and  is 
an  extensive  manufacturing  and  mechanical  town.  The  Spicket 
River,  which  has  its  source  in  Hampstead,  N.  H.,  passes  through 
this  place,  and  having  a  splendid  fall  of  thirty  feet,  furnishes  a  fine 
water-power.  Methuen  was  detached  from  Haverhill  in  1725,  and 
has  maintained  a  steady  growth  and  prosperity,  and  takes  high  rank 
among  the  flourishing  towns  of  Essex  County.  The  Spicket  empties 
into  the  Merrimack,  on  its  left  bank,  at  Lawrence. 

Bradford  was  incorporated  in  1675.  It  is  a  very  pleasant  town, 
the  land  rising  gradually  from  the  Merrimack,  culminating  in  ele- 
vated ridges  and  gentle  hills,  and  as  the  neat  dwellings  are  built 
along  the  slopes,  the  appearance  of  the  town  from  a  distance,  or 
from  some  neighboring  elevation,  with  the  broad  and  placid  Merri- 
mack in  the  foreground,  is  picturesque  and  pleasant.  The  shoe  bus- 
iness is  the  principal  interest  of  Bradford ;  in  fact,  it  may  be  said  it 
is  only  a  repetition  of  its  larger  neighbor  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
river.  Besides  the  Boston  &  Maine  Railroad  Bridge  there  is  what 
is  known  as  the  Toll  Bridge,  which  was  made  free  in  July,  1868,  by 
indemnifying  the  stockholders,  and  the  Rock  Bridge,  so  called, 
further  down  the  river. 

"  The  Agawam  tribe  occupied  the  eastern  part  of  what  is  now 
Essex  County,  in  Massachusetts,  extending  from  tide-water  upon  the 
Merrimack,  round  to  Cape  Ann.  Their  territory  skirted  upon  two 
sides  by  the  Merrimack  and  Atlantic,  indented  by  bays,  intersected 
by  rivers,  and  interspersed  with  ponds,  was  appropriately  called 
Wonne$quamsauke,  meaning,  literally,  "The  Pleasant  Water 
Place;"  the  word  being  a  compound  from  wonne  (pleasant), 
asquam  (water),  and  auke  (a  place).  This  word  was  sometimes 
contracted  to  Wonnesquam,  often  to  Squamsaukee,  and  still  oftener 
to  Squam  or  Asquam.  The  deep,  guttural  pronunciation  of  As- 
by the  Indians  sounded  to  the  English  like  Agawam,  and 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  289 

hence  the  word  as  applied  to  the  Indians  of  that  locality.  Several 
localities  in  Essex  County  are  now  known  by  names  contracted  and 
derived  from  this  Indian  word,  Wonnesquamsauke ;  as  "  Squam," 
the  name  of  a  pleasant  harbor  and  village  upon  the  north  side  of 
Cape  Ann,  and  '  Swamscott,'  the  name  of  a  pleasant  village  in  the 
eastern  part  of  Lynn."  * 

The  city  of  Lawrence,  the  ancient  seat  of  the  Agawams,  is 
another  of  those  magnificent  and  forcible  illustrations  of  the  almost 
incredible  power  and  capacity  of  the  Merrimack.  For  two  centuries 
the  river  and  the  land  literally  ran  to  waste ;  but  sparsely  settled, 
in  productiveness  meagrely  requiting  the  tiller's  industry,  it  seemed 
destined,  like  the  other  points  of  manufacturing  interest  along  the 
Merrimack,  to  a  career  of  barrenness  and  comparative  worthlessness, 
until  the  splendid  water-power  caught  the  eye  of  the  sagacious  man- 
ufacturer, when  a  change,  rapid  as  wonderful,  came  over  the  scene  : 
the  desert  waste  grew  green,  active,  busy  life  dispelled  the  unpleas- 
ant silence,  and  the  solitary  place  forthwith  resounded  with  the 
cheerful  rattle  of  machinery,  the  ring  of  the  anvil,  the  vigorous 
strokes  of  the  artisan  and  mechanic,  the  whirl  and  bustle  of  trade, 
and  the  constant  rush  of  steadily  augmenting  throngs, where  once 
the  few  hardy  fishermen,  along  the  falls,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Shaw- 
sheen  and  the  Spicket,  captured  the  magnificent  and  delicious  salmon, 
the  bony  shad,  and  the  slimy,  squirming  eel,  a  change  is  wrought, 
sudden  and  complete.  Monster  factories,  and  a  beautiful  city  of 
elegant  public  buildings,  handsome,  convenient,  and  comfortable 
dwellings,  workshops,  school-houses,  and  churches,  a  large,  enter- 
prising and  industrious  community,  now  adorn,  enliven,  and  beautify 
the  place.  As  early  as  1835,  Hon.  Josiah  G.  Abbott,  and  other 
gentlemen  interested  in  manufacturing,  examined  this  water-power 
with  a  view  to  the  establishment  of  extensive  works;  but  it  was  not 
until  ten  years  later  that  active  and  decisive  steps  were  taken  which 
have  resulted  in  the  springing  up,  as  if  by  a  touch  of  the  enchant- 
er's wand,  of  this  extensive  manufacturing  city. 

About  1835,  the  enterprising  people  of  Methuen  discussed  the 
project  of  turning  the  Merrimack  River  into  the  Spicket,  as  there 
was  a  fine  fall  of  thirty  feet  on  the  latter  stream,  but  an  insuffi- 
ciency of  water  for  very  extensive  operations.  Surveys  were  made 

*  Potter's  History  of  Manchester. 
37 


290  THE  MEEPJMACK  EIVER  ; 

by  Stephen  Barker,  and  it  was  ascertained  that  the  scheme  was  not 
feasible.  From  that  time,  however,  attention  was  directed  to  the 
falls  in  the  Merrimack,  and  in  1844,  the  proprietors  of  the  land 
and  water  power  were  incorporated  as  the  Essex  Company,  capital, 
one  million  dollars,  and  steps  were  at  once  taken  for  building  up  a 
large  manufacturing  city.  In  1845,  the  first  boarding-house  was 
erected,  and  the  construction  of  the  dam  begun  the  following  year. 
Same  year  the  "  Bay  State,"  Atlantic,  Cotton,  and  Union  Mills, 
also  Bleachery  and  Dyeing  Company.  The  total  capital  of  these 
corporations  was  four  million  five  hundred  thousand  dollars.  In 
1852,  the  Pacific  Mills  Company  was  incorporated;  capital,  two 
million  five  hundred  thousand  dollars.  In  1853,  the  Lawrence 
Duck;  capital,  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  dollars;  and 
also,  this  year,  the  city  of  Lawrence  was  chartered,  this  name  being 
given  it  in  compliment  to  Hon.  Abbott  Lawrence,  who  was  heavily 
engaged  in  manufacturing  in  New  England,  and  who  was  for  several 
years  envoy  to  England.  In  1854,  the  Pemberton  Mill  was  incor- 
porated. This  mill  fell  in  1859,  and  was  rebuilt  the  same  year ; 
capital,  four  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars.  Everett  Mill,  in- 
corporated 1^860 ;  capital,  eight  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

The  name  of  the  Bay  State  Company  has  been  changed  to  Wash- 
ington Mills ;  capital,  one  million  six  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
dollars.  The  Arlington  Woollen  Mills  Company  was  incorporated 
in  1865 ;  capital,  two  hundred  thousand  dollars.  There  are  two 
fine  bridges  at  Lawrence,  the  railway  and  highway. 

On  the  10th  of  January,  1860,  at  a  few  minutes  before  five 
o'clock,  P.  M..  an  appalling  catastrophe  occurred  in  this  city.  Th& 
Pemberton  Mill,  in  which  were  employed  more  than  seven  hundred 
operatives,  suddenly  fell,  burying  all  of  them  amid  the  wreck,  and, 
to  add,  if  possible,  to  the  consternation  and  horror  of  the  scene,  the 
ruins  took  fire.  About  one  hundred  lost  their  lives,  and  it  was  esti- 
mated that  a  majority  of  those  in  the  mill  were  either  killed,  or 
more  or  less  severely  injured,  either  by  the  fall  or  the  fire.  By  the 
census  of  1865,  the  population  of  the  city  was  twenty-one  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  thirty-three.  The  fall  at  Lawrence  is  twenty-six 
feet,  and  the  fall  in  the  river,  from  the  dam  to  tide-water,  eight 
miles,  is  eight  feet  only. 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES,  291 

Around  these  falls  the  Agawams  often  congregated,  and  ranged 
along  the  Merrimack  to  the  sea.  Fishing  the  numerous  small 
streams,  which,  rising  in  New  Hampshire,  sweep  down  through 
Haverhill,  Amesbury,  Salisbury,  and  Seabrook,  crowded  vwith  ale- 
wives;  then  again,  exploring  the  bays,  inlets,  and  small  rivers, 
around  the  eastern  shore,  from  Newburyport  to  Nahant ;  swarming 
across  the  gentle  hills  and  wooded  plains,  and  swampy  lowlands  of 
Essex,  they  lighted  their  camp-fires  around  interior  ponds,  well 
stocked  with  pickerel.  Here,  with  pomp,  parade,  and  bright  pros- 
pects, went  to  reside  the  Princess  of  the  House  of  Pennacook. 
Winnepurket,  often  called  George,  Sachem  of  Saugus,  sued  for,  and 
received  the  hand  of  the  daughter  of  Passaconnaway  in  marriage, 
and  soon  after,  on  a  nice  point  of  barbarian  punctilio,  a  fierce  em- 
broglio,  involving  the  estrangement  of  the  young  couple,  arose  be- 
tween father-in-law  and  son-in-law,  which,  only  for  the  timely  ad- 
vent of  the  pale-faces,  might  have  resulted  in  a  rebellion,  large 
bounties,  and  an  interminable  firebrand  or  sapling  dance.  "The 
poet  of  the  Merrimack  "  hag  chronicled  this  emeute  in  immortal 
verse,*  Winnepurket  being  characterized  as  "dog  of  the  marshes," 
among  other  maledictions  heaped  upon  his  devoted  head  by  his  in- 
censed and  implacable  father-in-law.  Winnepurket  married  again,  f 
and  at  the  close  of  Philip's  war,  he,  together  with  several  cargoes 
of  Indians,  was  sent  to  Barbadoes,  and  sold  into  slavery,  —  a  trans- 

*  "  I  bore  her,  as  became  a  chieftain's  daughter, 
Up  to  her  home  beside  the  flowing  water. 

"  If  now,  no  more  for  her  a  mat  is  found, 
Of  all  which  line  her  father's  wigwam  round,  f 

Let  Pennacook  call  out  his  warrior  train, 
And  send  her  back  with  wampum  gifts  again. 

" '  Dog  of  the  marsh ! '  cried  Pennacook,  '  no  more 
Shall  child  of  mine  sit  on  his  wigwam  floor. 
Go !  let  him  seek  some  meaner  squaw  to  spread 
The  stolen  bear -skin  of  his  beggar's  bed. 

" '  Son  of  a  fish-hawk!    let  him  dig  his  clams 
For  some  vile  daughter  of  the  Agawams, 
Or  coward  Nipmucks!  May  his  scalp  dry  black 
In  Mohawk  smoke,  before  I  send  her  back.' " 

t  This  second  wife  bore  the  no  doubt  euphonious,  but  unpronounceable,  name  of  Ahaway- 

etsquaine. 


292  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

action  sternly  rebuked  by  their  more  moral  (?)  descendants.  He 
finally  returned,  and  died  at  the  age  of  sixty-eight. 

Soon  after  leaving  Lawrence,  the  river  shows  the  effect  of  tide- 
Crater  very  distinctly,  its  current  being  less  perceptible,  moving  as  a 
compact  body  rather  than  a  collection  of  buoyant  particles,  sluggish 
and  darker  than  when  rippling  and  bounding  over  its  rocky  and  de- 
scending bed.  Notwithstanding  the  river  has  very  nearly  found  its 
final  level,  the  banks  are  steep,  almost  to  the  ocean,  and  through 
Haverhill  and  Bradford,  which  are  separated  by  it,  retire  boldly  to  a 
considerable  height,  affording  building  sites  at  once  picturesque  and 
pleasant,  rising  one  above  another,  like  tiers  of  parquette  boxes,  giv- 
ing to  all  an  unobstructed  view  of  the  grand  panorama  of  river  and 
landscape.  Haverhill  is  thus  laid  out,  a  large,  handsome,  healthy 
village.  It  was  formerly  called  Pentucket,  and  was  settled  in  the 
year  1640,  by  William  White,  Samuel  Gile,  James  Davis,  Henry 
Palmer,  John  Robinson,  Christopher  Massey,  John  Williams,  Rich- 
ard Littlehale,  Abraham  Tyler,  Daniel  Ladd,  Joseph  Merrie,  and 
Job  Clement ;  the  last  four  from  Ipswjch.  It  was  the  thirtieth  town 
settled  within  the  present  limits  of  Massachusetts,  and  was  the  forty- 
ninth  town  settled  in  New  England,  and  was  the  thirty-second  incor- 
porated town  in  the  State.* 

The  deed  of  the  town  given  by  the  Indians  —  the  original  instru- 
ment —  is  still  in  the  possession  of  the  town  of  Haverhill. 

On  the  5th  of  March,  1643,  there  was  a  severe  shock  of  an  earth- 
quake experienced  here,  which  alarmed  all  classes  of  people  greatly, 
but  did  no  serious  damage. 

July  5th,  of  the  same  year,  a  very  violent  hurricane  passed  over 
this  section  of  country,  prostrating  multitudes  of  trees  in  this  town, 
and  killing  one  Indian.  In  Newbury,  it  raised  the  church  from  its 
foundation,  and,  though  the  people  were  assembled  in  it,  no  one,  it 
is  believed,  was  injured. 

Kenoza,  or  Pickerel  Lake,  is  the  largest  body  of  water  in  Haver- 
hill. Its  area  is  three  hundred  acres,  and  its  surface  is  one  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  above  the  Merrimack.  Great  Hill,  so  called,  is  the 
highest  elevation  of  land  in  the  town,  and  the  second  highest  in 
Essex  County.  It  is  situated  a  mile  north  of  the  above-named  lake, 
and  is  three  hundred  and  forty  feet  above  the  sea. 

*  Palfrey. 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TEIBUTAEIES.  293 

Little  River,  a  lively  but  inconsiderable  affluent  of  the  Merrimack, 
has  its  source  in  Plaistow,  N.  H.,  and  effects  a  junction  with  the 
Merrimack  here.  Hale's  Flannel  Mills  are  located  on  this  stream, 
as  also  numerous  shops  and  mills  of  various  kinds  along  the  entire 
course  of  the  river  and  its  tributaries. 

Fishing  River,  so  called  from  the  quantities  of  alewives  formerly 
taken,  is  the  principal  tributary  of  Little  River. 

Meadow  River,  which  also  runs  through  Haverhill,  rises  in  New- 
ton, N.  H.,  and  drives  many  small  mills,  shops,  etc. 

There  are  two  long  bridges  spanning  the  Merrimack,  — the  Boston 
and  Maine  Railroad  bridge,  and  a  toll  bridge,  which  is  the  highway 
between  this  town  and  Bradford. 

Haverhill  supports  eleven  churches,  an  excellent  and  flourishing 
high  school,  and  a  very  good  library.  Its  town  hall  is  a  costly, 
elegant,  and  convenient  structure.  There  are  nearly  thirteen  hun- 
dred houses,  and  one  hundred  shoe  manufactories,  which  is  the  prin- 
cipal business  of  the  place.  The  population  is  largely  transient  and 
floating,  varying  as  much  as  four  thousand  between  high  and  low 
tide  of  business. 

"  The  view  from  Silver  Hill  is  exceedingly  beautiful.  Before  us, 
and  almost  at  our  very  feet,  lies  the  pleasant  village  of  Haverhill, 
with  its  twelve  hundred  dwelling-houses,  its  one  hundred  shoe  manu- 
factories, and  its  eleven  churches.  Its  natural  situation  is  uncom- 
monly fine.  Built  upon  a  gentle  acclivity,  the  houses  rise  one  above 
another  in  such  regular  order  that  nearly  every  one  can  be  counted. 
The  Merrimack,  dotted  here  and  there  with  a  variety  of  craft,  from 
the  light  and  trembling  skiff  to  the  heavy  gondola,  and  the  still  more 
imposing  and  majestic  moving  ocean  craft,  with  their  broad,  white 
sails  and  tall  masts  overshadowing  the  water,  and,  spanned  with  its 
bridges,  flows  calmly  at  its  base,  not  in  straight,  monotonous  course, 
but  with  a  gentle  meandering,  of  which  the  eye  can  never  tire. 

"  Across  the  river  are  seen  the  smoothly  rounded  hills,  the  green 
and  fertile  fields,  and  the  pleasant  villages  of  Bradford  and  Grove- 
land.  To  the  south  rise  the  hills  of  Andover,  with  their  wooded 
slopes  dotted  here  and  there  with  neat,  white  farm-houses.  A  little 
to  the  west,  the  tall  spires,  just  peeping  above  the  hills,  point  out  the 
whereabouts  of  the  city  which  sprang  into  existence  almost  like  Jo- 
nah's gourd,  — the  city  of  Lawrence.  A  little  farther  still  to  the 


294  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

west,  and  the  same  signs  indicate  the  spot  long  ago  settled  by  the 
hardy  sons  of  Haverhill,  the  village  of  Metheun.  In  the  dim  dis- 
tance beyond,  enveloped  in  misty  blue,  can  be  traced  the  outline  of 
Mount  Wachusett.  Still  farther  towards  the  west,  as  if  it  were  not 
well  the  eye  should  roam  too  far,  the  Scotland  and  West  Meadow  Hills 
shut  out  the  more  distant  view  beyond,  but  not  until  we  have  caught 
sight  of  the  tall  peak  of  the  grand  Monadnock.  Sweeping  towards 
the  north  we  have  a  view  of  the  thrifty  farms  of  the  West  Parish, 
with  the  granite  hills  of  New  Hampshire  in  the  background. 

"  To  the  north,  the  eye  rests  upon  a  fine  succession  of  green  fields 
and  wooded  slopes,  marking  a  section  of  the  town  which  suffered  the 
most  severely  from  the  atrocities  of  the  murderous  savages.  There 
the  brave  and  resolute  Hannah  Bradley  was  twice  taken  captive ; 
there  the  lion-hearted  Hannah  Dustin  was  captured,  but  not  con- 
quered, and  there  stands  her  monument ;  there  the  heroic  Thomas 
Dustin  defied  the  murderous  tomahawk  to  harm  the  humblest  of  his 
little  flock.  There,  too,  upon  that  gentle  slope,  the  brave  Captain 
Ayer  and  his  little  band  boldly  attacked  the  retreating  foe  upon  the 
memorable  29th  of  August,  £708.  From  this  summit  might  have 
been  heard  the  warwhoop,  and  have  been  seen  the  gleaming  toma- 
hawk, in  nearly  every  attack  made  upon  the  inhabitants  of  Haverhill 
by  the  savages. 

"  The  valley  of  the  Little  River,  or  Indian  River  as  it  was  also 
once  called,  of  which  the  section  just  mentioned  forms  a  part,  is  here 
seen  in  all  its  beauty,  as  it  stretches,  with  its  charming  succession  of 
hill  and  dale  and  meadow,  from  the  Merrimack  far  back  among  the 
granite  hills  of  our  sister  State.  This  view  alone  is  well  worth  a 
visit  to  the  broad  summit  of  Silver  Hill."  * 

Amesbury  and  Salisbury  are  so  intimately  and  naturally  connected, 
so  interwoven  in  business  relations,  that  it  is  impossible  to  obtain  ex- 
actly and  separately  the  business  of  each.  They  were  originally  one 
town,  and  were  settled  by  Simon  Bradstreet,  Daniel  Dennison,  and 
others,  to  whom  it  was  granted  as  a  plantation,  under  the  name  of 
Merrimack.  The  following  year  it  was  incorporated  under  the  name 
of  Colchester,  and  in  1640.  by  direction  of  the  General  Court,  it 
took  the  name  of  Salisbury.  In  1668,  the  town  was  divided  by  the 
course  of  the  Pow-Wow,  the  boundary  between  the  towns,  and  the 

*  Chase's  Haverhill. 


ITS  SOUZCE  AND  ITS  TBIBUTAEIES.  295 

dissevered  portion  lying  on  the  north  side  or  left  bank  of  the  Merri- 
mack  took  the  name  of  Amesbury. 

The  Pow-Wow  River,  a  considerable  tributary  of  the  Merrimack, 
takes  its  rise  in  Kingston,  N.  H.,  and  effects  a  junction  with  the 
Merrimack  in  this  town,  and  affords  one  of  the  best  manufacturing 
privileges  to  be  found  in  the  country.  Like  most  other  New  England 
streams,  the  first  use  made  of  this  was  for  saw  and  grain  mills,  and 
its  usefulness  was  limited  to  these  and  kindred  purposes.  Nail  and 
iron  works  followed. 

In  the  year  1812  the  manufacture  of  cloth  was  begun,  and  the 
first  contract  for  clothing  our  troops  in  the  war  which  began  the 
same  year  was  filled  by  this  mill.  From  that  time  to  the  present, 
manufacturing  has  been  steadily  increasing,  and  it  has  reached  a 
magnitude  not  probably  dreamed  of  by  its  original  projectors. 

Previous  to  the  year  1854  there  were  two  corporations,  the  Salis- 
bury Mills  and  the  Amesbury  Flannel  Mills.  About  that  time  these 
were  consolidated  under  the  name  of  the  Salisbury  Manufacturing 
Company.  In  1856,  the  present  company  purchased  all  the  prop- 
erty and  effects  of  this  concern,  and  was  incorporated  by  the  name, 
of  the  Salisbury  Mills  Company,  with  a  capital  of  seven  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  dollars,  which  has  since  been  increased  to  one 
million  dollars. 

This  company  has,  at  the  present  time,  ten  large  woollen  mills, 
containing  seventy-five  sets  of  machinery,  and  two  thousand  cotton 
spindles.  These  mills  are  located  on  the  Pow-Wow,  and  obtain  their 
motive-power  from  a  total  aggregate  fall  of  seventy-five  feet,  which 
is  wholly  included  within  a  distance  of  seventy  rods.  This  company 
own  the  entire  privilege  of  this  river,  from  its  source  in  New  Hamp- 
shire to  its  confluence  with  the  Merrimack,  which  occurs  a  half  a 
mile  below  the  mills,  and  flows  more  than  three  thousand  acres,  af- 
fording a  never-failing  reservoir.  The  water  is  used  over  five  differ- 
ent times,  exclusive  of  the  times  which  it  is  used  in  running  three 
saw  and  three  grain  mills,  which  the  company  own  and  operate. 
Almost  every  variety  and  description  of  woollen  fabrics  are  manu- 
factured here,  and  the  enormous  quantity  of  more  than  seven  and  a 
half  miles  in  length  of  manufactured  goods  is  produced  daily,  —  a 
business  amounting  to  over  three  millions  of  dollars  per  annum. 
There  are  five  feet  of  tide-water,  affording  an  easy,  cheap,  and  con- 


296  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

venient  conveyance  of  heavy  articles,  such  as  machinery,  coal,  wool, 
etc.,  to  and  from  the  mills.  These  mills  use  the  almost  fabuloua 
quantity  of  between  four  and  five  millions  pounds  of  wool  per  annum. 

Mr.  Samuel  H.  Shepard,  who  has  charge  of  the  wool  department, 
met  with  a  frightful  accident  and  a  very  narrow  escape  from  death, 
in  one  of  the  large  wool  houses  in  Boston.  He  fell  a  distance,  said 
to  be  fifty-four  feet,  with  no  injury  except  a  compound  fracture  of 
one  ankle. 

John  Gardner,  Esq.,  is  treasurer  of  this  company,  he  having  held 
that  position  since  1856.  The  present  agent,  who  has  charge  of 
these  extensive  works,  is  M.  D.  F.  Steere,  who  has  occupied  his 
present  position  since  the  spring  of  1858. 

There  is  also  a  wool  hat  manufactory,  with  a  capital  of  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  thousand  dollars,  with  three  mills,  each  of  which  is  a 
complete  factory  of  itself,  taking  the  raw  material  and  turning  out 
hats  finished  and  trimmed,  ready  for  retail.  This  company  employs 
two  hundred  and  fifty  hands,  and  the  daily  product  is  two  hundred 
and  twenty-five  dozen  elegant  hats.  In  addition  to  the  foregoing, 
there  are  other  mills  and  works  with  a  united  capital  of  nearly  two 
hundred  thousand  dollars. 

Carriage-making  is  carried  on  here  to  an  extent  exceeding  any 
other  place  in  the  State,  in  numbers  and  quality,  and  Amesbury  ve- 
hicles enjoy  a  high,  extensive,  and  well-merited  reputation.  Ship- 
building is  also  carried  on,  some  half  dozen,  of  various  tonnage  and 
of  superior  material  and  model,  being  annually  launched. 

Pow-Wow  Hill,  an  elevation  of  three  hundred  feet,  is  said  to  -have 
been  the  council-chamber  of  the  aboriginal  settlers,  from  whence 
they  could  survey  the  surrounding  country  and  gaze  far  out  upon 
the  blue  waste  of  waters. 

In  1643,  under  a  false  construction  of  her  boundary  claim,  Mas- 
sachusetts seized  upon  Hampton,  Exeter,  Portsmouth,  and  Dover, 
in  New  Hampshire,  uniting  with  them  the  towns  of  Salisbury  and 
Haverhill,  in  Massachusetts,  formed  a  new  county,  which  was  called 
Norfolk,  Salisbury  being  the  shire  town,  which  it  continued  to  be 
until  1679,  when  the  boundary  was  readjusted,  and  the  four  towns 
first  named  reverted  to  their  original  and  rightful  jurisdiction. 

In  August,  1737,  commissioners  appointed  by  the  crown  assembled 
at  Hampton  Falls  to  settle  the  controversy.  On  this  occasion,  the 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES,  297 

General  Court  of  New  Hampshire  convened  at  Hampton,  while  Salis- 
bury had  the  distinguished  honor  of  being  the  place  of  meeting  of 
the  great  and  General  Court  of  Massachusetts. 

As  the  Legislature  of  New  Hampshire  was  to  meet  on  the  4th 
day  of  August  at  Hampton,  that  of  Massachusetts  adjourned  at  Bos- 
ton to  meet  again  on  the  1  Oth  of  the  same  month  at  Salisbury,  the 
adjoining  town.  Much  preparation  had  been  made  in  Boston  for  this 
transient  session  of  the  portable  "great  and  General  Court,"  and 
Gov.  Belcher,  in  company  with  many  dignitaries,  rode  in  great  pomp 
and  state,  escorted  by  troopers  and  horsemen,  to  Newbury,  from 
whence  he  was  escorted  by  additional  companies  to  the  George  Tav- 
ern, at  Hampton  Falls,  when,  as  it  was  long  before  the  enlightened 
age  of  Maine  laws  and  State  constables,  it  is  very  probable  the  gov- 
ernor and  his  friend  took  something  —  to  eat. 

The  governor  and  his  cortege  made  up  a  brilliant  pageant  for  that 
age,  much  to  the  disgust  of  the  admirers  of  official  simplicity  of  man- 
ners, and  the  show  was  lampooned  severely.  Here  is  a  sample :  — 

"  Dear  Paddy,  you  ne'er  did  behold  such  a  sight, 
As  yesterday  morning  was  seen  before  night. 
You  in  all  your  born  days  saw,  nor  I  didn't  neither, 
So  many  fine  horses  and  men  ride  together. 
At  the  head,  the  lower  house  rode  two  in  a  row, 
Then  all  the  higher  house  trotted  after  the  low ; 
Then  the  governor's  coach  galloped  on  like  the  wind, 
And  the  last  that  came  foremost  were  troopers  behind. 
But  I  fear  it  means  no  good  to  your  neck  or  mine, 
For  they  say  'tis  to  fix  a  right  place  for  the  line." 

AH  this  parade  amounted  to  nothing,  except  it  was  to  furnish  a 
"  Court  Record  "  item  for  the  "  Boston  News  Letter,"  thus :  — 

"  HAMPTON  FAIXS,  in  New  Hampshire,  Aug.  18. 

"  On  Monday  last,  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  His  Excellency,  our  Gov- 
ernor, attended  by  several  of  His  Majesty's  Council  and  sundry  other  gentle- 
men, set  out  for  Londonderry,  and  on  Monday  night  lodged  at  the  house  of 
Kobert  Boyes,  Esq.,  in  that  town.  On  Tuesday  His  Excellency  went  to 
Amoskeag  and  returned  in  the  evening  to  Mr.  Boyes's,  and  yesterday  came  back 
to  this  place  in  good  health,  having  dined  on  his  way  hither  with  Mr.  San- 
born,  of  Kingston  (the  Representative  from  that  town).  His  Excellency  was 
much  pleased  with  the  fine  soil  of  Chester,  the  extraordinary  improvements 
at  Derry,  and  the  mighty  falls  at  'Skeag." 
38 


298  THE  MEEEIMACK  EIVEE; 

Salisbury  beach  is  considered  remarkably  beautiful,  and  is  much 
frequented. 

West  Newbury  was  taken  from  the  ancient  town  of  Newbury  in 
1819.  It  is  a  good  farming  town  on  the  south  side  of  the  Merrimack. 
Marble  and  a  variety  of  hornblende  or  amianthus,  the  finer  varie- 
ties of  which  have  been  manufactured  into  cloth  which  will  not  burn, 
and  a  mineral  sometimes  called  asbestos  is  quarried  here.  There  are 
also  carriage  manufactories,  but  the  principal  business  is  professional 
farming,  carried  on  by  gentlemen  of  means,  who  realize  twenty  per 
cent,  of  pleasure  to  one  of  profit.  There  is  on  the  highway  on  the 
Merrimack  a  bridge  known  as  the  "Chain  Bridge." 

"  Ould  Newberry,"  as  it  was  anciently  called,  was  settled  in  the 
spring  of  1635.  It  derives  its  name  from  Newbury,  a  town  in 
England ;  being  so  named  by  the  wish  of  Rev.  Thomas  Parker,  who 
was  the  first  minister,  and  who  had  formerly  preached  in  Newbury, 
England.  The  Indians  called  the  place  Quascacunquen,  which  sig- 
nifies a  "waterfall,"  — in  this  case  the  waterfall  on  Parker  River. 
There  were  ninety  grantees  of  the  town,  most  of  whom,  in  a  small 
vessel,  came  round  the  coast,  entered  the  Merrimack  River,  and 
landed  where  the  city  of  Newburyport  now  stands.  The  first  white 
child,  Mary,  daughter  of  Thomas  Brown,  was  born  in  1635.  Joshua, 
son  of  Edward  Woodman,  was  born  the  same  year.  The  first  named 
lived  to  the  patriarchal  age  of  eighty -one  years. 

In  1657,  Thomas  Macy  was  prosecuted  for  a  violation  of  the  law 
against  harboring  or  entertaining  Quakers.  It  appears  that,  during 
a  violent  shower  of  rain,  several  men  sought  shelter  under  his  roof. 
They  were  strangers  to  him,  but  two  of  them  proved  to  be  William 
Robinson  and  Marmaduke  Stephenson,  who  were  afterwards  hung  in 
Boston  for  the  heinous  crime  of  being  Quakers.  These  gentlemen 
inquired  the  way  to  Hampton,  and  in  about  three-fourths  of  an  hour, 
the  storm  abating,  went  their  way.  For  this  act  of  anti-Puritanic 
hospitality,  although  he  protested  his  entire  ignorance  of  the  persons 
or  their  religious  character,  and  offered  a  humble  apology  for  the 
grave  (!)  offence,  Mr.  Macy  was  fined  thirty  shillings.  Being  himself 
a  Christian  gentleman  of  the  practical  type,  he  was  disgusted  with 
the  bigotry  and  intolerance  exhibited,  and,  embarking  his  family  and 
effects  in  an  open  boat,  "left  the  country,"  and  went  to  the  island 
of  Nantucket,  where  he  passed  the  remainder  of  his  days. 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  299 

It  may  be  gratifying  to  know  that  the  statutes  paid  attention  to 
personal  adornment,  as  well  as  the  religious  views  of  the  community. 
Thus,  no  person  not  possessed  of  the  value  of  two  hundred  pounds 
was  permitted  to  wear  silks,  and  many  women  were  fined  for  a  viola- 
tion of  this  law.  So  the  two-hundred  pound  ladies  looked  down 
with  commiseration,  perhaps,  on  the  poorer  ones. 

Newburyport,  directly  at  the  mouth  of  the  Merrimack,  is,  proba- 
bly, the  smallest  town  in  area  in  the  United  States,  it  being  only 
one  mile  square.  It  was  formerly  a  part  of  Newbury,  and  was  sep- 
arated from  that  ancient  town  in  1764.  Formerly  the  foreign  trade 
was  extensively  carried  on,  but  has  been  impeded  by  the  bar  at  the 
mouth  of  the  river.  Still  the  town  is  extensively  engaged  in  fish- 
ing and  freighting,  besides  some  ship-building,  cotton  manufacturing, 
and  many  other  kinds  of  business. 

Josiah  Bartlett,  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence, born  in  Amesbury,  died  in  this  place  May  19,  1795.  George 
Whitefield,  one  of  the  founders  of  Methodism,  died  in  this  town  in 
1770.  He  was  born  in  Gloucester,  England,  December  16,  1714, 
and  the  inscription  on  his  cenotaph  says  :  "  In  a  ministry  of  thirty- 
four  years  he  preached  more  than  eighteen  thousand  sermons,  and 
crossed  the  Atlantic  thirteen  times.  As  a  soldier  of  the  cross,  hum- 
ble, devout,  ardent,  he  put  on  the  whole  armor  of  God,  preferring 
the  honor  of  Christ  to  his  own  interest,  repose,  reputation,  and  life." 
George  was  of  humble  and  obscure  origin,  the  first  and  the  last,  of 
any  note,  who  bore  the  name  of  Whitefield.  He  was  a  natural  ora- 
tor ;  and  in  him  was  concentrated  that  masterly  and  indefinable  power 
of  eloquence  which  sways  the  emotions,  directs  and  controls  the 
impulses,  and  captivates  while  it  enlarges  the  mind  and  the  heart. 
Possessed  of  a  gorgeous  imagery,  which  afterwards  made  his  sermons 
so  majestic,  effective,  and  beautiful,  he  early  looked  to  the  stage, 
which,  however,  was  a  sphere  too  limited  for  his  masterly  powers  and 
unbounded  benevolence.  His  stage  was  to  be  the  universe,  his  au- 
dience a  sinful  world,  his  reward  reclaiming  and  restoring  fallen  man 
to  Christ.  He  preached  in  New  England  to  multitudes,  who,  spell 
bound,  were  moulded  to  his  will  by  the  irresistible  power  of  persua- 
sive and  glowing  eloquence.  Whenever  and  wherever  he  preached, 
shops  were  closed  and  secular  business  generally  suspended ;  crowds 
followed  to  listen  with  almost  unseemly  eagerness,  and  the  masses, 


300  THE  MEIiEIMACK  EIVEE; 

enraptured  by  his  fervid  eloquence,  were  melted  to  tears  by  bis  sub- 
lime pathos,  or  inspired  with  an  ecstasy  of  hitherto  unfelt  and  un- 
known joy  and  peace  and  happiness,  as  he  portrayed  the  munificence 
of  a  Saviour's  undying  love.  Like  all  illustrious  and  conspicuous 
men,  he  had  bitter  and  relentless  enemies ;  such  minds  as  prefer 
lowering  the  angels  to  elevating  or  raising  mortals  up ;  but  whether 
eminent  professors  or  others,  the  malignity  of  their  enmity  was  in- 
bred and  not  contagious,  and  the  farthing  rush  they  opposed  to  the 
effulgence  of  this  brilliant  and  blazing  meteor  was  totally  eclipsed 
and  consigned  to  oblivion  by  the  inestimable  superiority  of  his  intel- 
lectual power  and  Christian  character ;  by  the  power  and  success 
and  magnitude  of  his  religious  efforts,  and  the  unfading  glory  and 
renown  justly  due  and  generously  accorded  to  him,  and  his  cherished 
and  revered  memory,  for  the  beneficent  result  of  his  sacrifices  and 
labors  in  the  cause  to  which  he  devoted  his  matchless  eloquence,  his 
best  efforts,  and  even  life  itself. 

Hon.  Caleb  Gushing  was  born  at  Salisbury,  Mass.,  January  IT, 
1800  ;  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1817  ;  was  elected  to  Con- 
gress in  1835,  where  he  served  with  distinguished  honor  for  several 
years.  He  was  appointed  to  a  seat  in  the  cabinet  of  President  Tyler, 
but  was  rejected  by  the  Senate,  and  in  1843  was  appointed  Commis- 
sioner to  China  for,  the  United  States  Government,  being  the  first 
minister  sent  to  the  Celestial  Empire.  He  was  brigadier-general  in 
the  Mexican  War,  and  was  a  member  of  President  Pierce's  cabinet, 
discharging  the  duties  of  his  position  with  consummate  ability.  On 
entering  the  cabinet  he  resigned  his  position  on  the  Supreme  Bench. 
As  a  debater  he  is  considered  to  be  without  an  equal  in  New  Eng- 
land. He  is,  personally,  the  most  popular  of  men,  and  dispenses  his 
large  means  with  a  liberal  hand. 

There  are  many  manufactories  and  mechanical  works  in  Newbury- 
port,  some  of  them  of  considerable  magnitude.  Among  these  may 
be  mentioned  the  American  Machine  Company  (paper  collars),  with 
a  capital  of  eighty-two  thousand  dollars ;  Globe  Steam  Mills  (print 
cloths),  capital,  two  hundred  thousand  dollars;  James  Steam  Mills 
(sheeting  and  shirting),  capital,  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dol- 
lars ;  Merrimack  Arms  Manufacturing  Company  (rifles,  guns,  and 
pistols),  capital,  two  hundred  thousand  dollars;  Ocean  Steam  Mills 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  301 

(print  cloths  and  sheetings),  capital,  three  hundred  and  sixty  thou- 
sand dollars ;  and  various  other  establishments. 

11  Plum  Island,  at  the  mouth  of  this  river  (Merrimack),  to  whose 
formation,  perhaps,  these  very  banks  have  sent  their  contribution,  ia 
a  similar  desert  of  drifting  sand,  of  various  colors,  blown  into  grace- 
ful curves  by  the  wind.  It  is  a  mere  sand-bar  exposed,  stretching 
nine  miles  parallel  to  the  coast,  and,  exclusive  of  the  marsh  on  the 
inside,  rarely  more  than  half  a  mile  wide.  There  are  but  half  a 
dozen  houses  on  it,  and  it  is  almost  without  a  tree  or  a  sod,  or  any 
green  thing  with  which  a  countryman  is  familiar.  The  thin  vegeta- 
tion stands  half  buried  in  the  sand  as  in  drifting  snow.  The  only 
shrub,  the  beach  plum,  which  gives  the  island  its  name,  grows  but  a 
few  feet  high  ;  but  this  is  so  abundant  that  parties  of  a  hundred  at 
once  come  from  the  main  land  and  down  the  Merrimack,  in  Septem- 
ber, and  pitch  their  tents,  and  gather  the  plums,  which  are  good  to 
eat  raw  and  to  preserve.  The  graceful  and  delicate  beach  pea,  too, 
grows  abundantly  amid  the  sand;  and  several  strange,  moss-like, 
and  succulent  plants.  The  island  for  its  whole  length  is  scalloped 
into  low  hills,  not  more  than  twenty  feet  high,  by  the  wind,  and, 
excepting  a  faint  trail  on  the  edge  of  the  marsh,  is  as  trackless  as 
Sahara.  There  are  dreary  bluffs  of  sand  and  valleys  ploughed  by  the 
wind,  where  you  might  expect  to  discover  the  bones  of  a  caravan. 
Schooners  come  from  Boston  to  load  with  the  sand  for  masons'  uses, 
and  in  a  few  hours  the  wind  obliterates  all  traces  of  their  work. 
Yet  you  have  only  to  dig  a  foot  or  two  anywhere  to  come  to  fresh 
wafer;  and  you  are  surprised  to  learn  that  woodchucks  abound  here, 
and  foxes  are  found,  though  you  see  not  where  they  can  burrow  or 
hide  themselves.  I  have  walked  down  the  whole  length  of  its  broad 
beach  at  low  tide,  at  which  time  alone  you  can  find  a  firm  ground  to 
walk  on,  and  probably  Massachusetts  does  not  furnish  a  more  grand 
and  dreary  walk.  On  the  sea-side  there  are  only  a  distant  sail  and 
a  few  coots  to  break  the  grand  monotony.  A  solitary  stake  stuck 
up,  or  a  sharper  sand-hill  than  usual,  is  remarkable  as  a  landmark  for 
miles,  while  for  music  you  hear  only  the  ceaseless  sound  of  the  surf, 
and  the  dreary  peep  of  the  beach-birds."  * 

The  settlement  of  Seabrook  was  commenced  in  1638.  It  lies  on 
the  north  side  of  Newburyport  Bay,  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Mer- 

*  Thoreau's  "  Week  on  the  Concord  and  Merrimack  Rivers." 


302  THE  MEREIMACK  RIVEE; 

rimack  River,  in  the  extreme  south-eastern  angle  of  New  Hampshire. 
A  portion  of  its  present  limits  was  formerly  in  Massachusetts,  but 
was  restored  te  the  rightful  jurisdiction  of  New  Hampshire  by  the 
adjustment  of  the  boundary  line  between  the  States,  which  occurred 
in  1741.  The  former  line,  from  the  "  Bound  Ifack"  at  the  mouth 
of  the  river,  —  on  which  can  still  be  traced  the  inscription,  "A.  D., 
165T,  H.  B.,"  — can  yet  be  traced  to  a  rock  near  the  brick  school- 
house,  marked  "B.  T."  Seabrook  was  granted,  June  3d,  1768,  to 
Jonathan  Weare  and  others.  The  Weare  family  have  been  among 
the  most  able  and  prominent  of  the  early  settlers  of  New  Hampshire. 
Nathaniel  Weare  was  an  agent  for  the  colonies,  and  was  in  England 
much  of  the  time,  urging  attention  to  the  complaints  of  the  colonies 
against  Edward  Cranfield,  the  royal  Governor.  •  Nathaniel  Weare, 
Jr.,  was  much  in  public  life,  and  was  familiar  with  and  skilled  in  the 
transaction  of  public  business.  Meshech  Weare,  son  of  the  latter, 
was  also  a  resident  of  this  town,  and  was  at  one  time  President  of 
New  Hampshire,  and  was  a  prominent  character  as  well  as  one  of  the 
ablest  men  of  his  time.  Among  the  early  settlers  were  the  Felches, 
Christopher  Hersey,  Joseph  Dow,  Thomas  Philbrick,  and  the  Goves. 
These  names  are  still  familiar  wherever  there  is  a  society  of  Friends 
in  New  Hampshire.  Edward  Gove  was  always  bitterly  opposed  to 
the  arbitrary  and  tyrannical  policy  of  England.  He  was  arrested, 
tried,  and  convicted  of  high  treason,  and  was  a  prisoner  in  the  tower 
of  London  for  three  years,  when  he  was  released  and  returned  to  his 
friends.  The  following  is  a  copy  of  his  pardon  :  — 

"  JAMES  E.  Where  as  Edward  Gove  was  neare  three  years  since  appre- 
hended, tryed  &  condemned  for  High  Treason  in  our  Colony  of  New  England 
in  America,  and  in  June,  1683,  was  committed  prisoner  to  the  Tower  of  Lon- 
don, we  have  thought  fit  hereby  to  signify  our  Will  and  Pleasure  to  you  that 
you  cause  him,  the  said  Edward  Gove,  to  be  inserted  in  the  next  general 
pardon  that  shall  come  out  for  the  poor  Convicts  of  Newgate  without  any 
condition  of  transportation,  he  giving  such  security  for  his  good  behavior  as 
you  will  think  requisite.  And  for  so  doing  this  shall  be  your  warrant. 

"  Given  at  our  Court  at  Windsor  the  14th  day  of  September,  1685,  in  the  first 
year  of  our  reign.  By  his  Mag.  his  command.  Sunderland.  To  our  trusty 
and  wellbeloved  the  Kecorder  of  our  Citty  of  London  and  all  others  whom  it 
may  concern.  Edward  Gove  to  be  inserted  in  ye  General  Pardon." 

There  is  a  letter  still  extant,  written  to  him  at  this  period  by  his 
daughter  Hannah  and  her  husband,  Abraham  Clements,  the  super 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  303 

scription  being  as  follows:  "For  my  honored  father  Edward  Gove. 
In  the  tower  or  elsewhere  I  pray  you  deliver  with  care."  The  letter 
bears  date  as  follows:  "From  Hampton  the  31  of  ye  first  month, 
1686."  The  Quaker  sect  was  powerful  both  in  the  number  and 
character  of  its  members,  and  a  society  was  formed  as  early  as  1701, 
undoubtedly  the  pioneer  of  this  creed  in  New  Hampshire,  as  an  or 
ganized  and  healthy  society,  and  the  descendants  of  the  members  of 
it  having  emigrated  to  other  towns  became  the  nucleus  or  prominent 
support  of  other  societies,  and  their  names  reappear,  as  the  Felches 
of  Tarn  worth,  the  Goves  of  Weare,  etc.  The  first  Presbyterian  So- 
ciety was  organized  in  1764.  Seabrook  was  formed  of  the  territory 
reclaimed  from  Massachusetts  and  a  portion  of  old  Hampton,  and 
derived  its  name  from  having  the  sea  on  one  side,  into  which  it  dis- 
charges numerous  large  brooks.  The  building  of  whale  and  other 
boats  is  more  extensively  carried  on  than  in  any  other  town  in  the 
State.  Dearborn  Academy  was  founded  in  1851,  and  a  substantial 
brick  edifice  was  erected  two  years  later.  An  endowment  of  fifteen 
thousand  dollars  was  made  by  the  late  Dr.  Edward  Dearborn,  an 
eminent  physician  and  distinguished  citizen.  [He  also  left  a  fund  of 
four  thousand  dollars,  the  proceeds  of  which  are  "to  be  applied  to  the 
support  of  the  gospel  forever  in  this  place."]  It  has  a  pleasant  and 
salubrious  situation  in  the  village,  commanding  extensive  views  of 
neighboring  villages,  distant  mountains,  and  the  "deep  blue  sea." 

The  early  settlers  of  this,  as  most  other  towns,  suffered  much  from 
the  depredations  of  Indians,  and  on  one  occasion  a  band,  numbering 
thirty-two,  by  the  count  of  a  Mr.  Gove,  who  watched  them  as  they 
crawled  on  their  hands  and  knees  from  the  swamp,  visited  the  town, 
and  first  killed  a  widow  Henry,  beating  out  her  brains  with  toma- 
hawks. She  was  much  lamented  by  the  society  of  Friends,  she  being 
one  of  their  most  effective  preachers.  An  earthen  vessel,  she  was 
carrying  at  the  time  she  was  attacked  and  killed,  is  still  in  the  pos- 
session of  Jonathan  Gove.  Thomas  Lancaster,  who  was  on  his  way 
to  mill,  was  the  next  person  killed.  Jonathan  Green  was  next 
killed,  being  bruised  and  beaten  in  a  cruel  and  horrible  manner.  A 
small  child  was  next  seized,  and  its  head  mangled  by  striking  it 
against  a  plough.  They  then  entered  the  house  of  Nicholas  Bond, 
killed  and  scalped  him,  and,  having  perpetrated  all  the  mischief 
they  could  without  too  much  exposure,  made  their  escape. 


804  THE  MERRIMACK  RIVER; 

Seabrook  is  considered  a  valuable  farming  town,  is  under  a  high 
state  of  cultivation,  has  extensive  salt  marshes,  large  forests  of  pine 
wood  and  timber,  and  the  Eastern  Railroad  passes  nearly  through 
the  centre  of  the  town,  affording  easy  and  rapid  communication  with 
Boston,  as  well  as  the  north  and  east.  It  joins  Salisbury  on  the  east, 
and  is  a  near  neighbor  to  Newburyport. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  Merrimack  River  has  its  source  in  the 
Willey  and  neighboring  mountains  of  the  majestic  group  of  crystal 
or  white  hills  in  the  great  ungranted  territory  of  northern  New 
Hampshire,  at  an  altitude  of  some  six  thousand  feet  above  the 
ocean,  in  the  heart  of  a  region  so  wild  and  extensive  as  to  be  but 
little  known  ;  that  it  pursues  a  south-westerly  course  for  the  first 
forty  or  fifty  miles,  then  south,  through  the  State,  thence  east  to  the 
ocean ;  that  it  is  some  two  hundred  and  sixty  miles  in  length  by  its 
course ;  that  its  tributaries  number  twenty-five  respectable  rivers, 
and  smaller  streams  innumerable ;'  that  all  of  these  of  any  conse- 
quence, except  the  Winnepesaukee  and  the  Suncook,  flow  to  it  from 
the  west,  north,  or  south-west,  and  all  of  them  except  the  Concord 
have  their  course,  wholly  or  in  part,  through  New  Hampshire.  It 
will  also  be  observed  that  the  incorporated  capital  invested  in  manu- 
facturing amounts  in  round  numbers  to  forty  million  dollars,  besides 
an  investment  in  mills  and  mechanical  works,  not  incorporated,  esti- 
mated at  one-half  as  much  more,  exclusive  of  the  wealth  collected  and 
accumulated,  represented  by  property  entirely  disconnected  with  and 
.independent  of  these  interests  although  to  a  great  extent  created  by 
them,  the  improvements,  and  the  vastly  increased  value  of  every 
species  of  property  throughout  its  whole  course ;  while  almost 
wholly  by  reason  of  the  facilities  afforded  for  manufacturing  by  the 
unequalled  water-power  of  the  Merrimack,  the  population  along  the 
river  has  increased  from  a  few  slender  and  scattered  hamlets  to  more 
than  two  hundred  thousand  souls.  On  the  Merrimack  River  proper 
there  are  five  heavy,  substantial,  and  expensive  dams,  and  some  twenty-  - 
five  railway  and  highway  bridges.  The  figures  already  given  will 
exhibit  something  of  the  incredible  amount  of  manufacturing  busi- 
ness done  on  the  Merrimack  and  will,  with  what  has  been  described 
as  its  collateral  or  undeveloped  capacity,  give  a  more  definite  idea 
of  the  hydraulic  power  of  that  stream  than  has  heretofore  been  gen- 
erally prevalent.  More  than  three-fourths  of  the  population  and 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTAEIES.  305 

wealth  of  the  Merrimack  is  without  doubt  due  solely  to  the  many 
unequalled  water-powers  along  the  course  of  that  stream.  The  mag- 
nitude, complication,  and  elaboration  of  the  manufacturing  business 
on  the  Merrimack  would  astound  and  bewilder  those  unacquainted 
with  the  production  of  textile  fabrics  on  a  large  scale.  The  most 
eminent  hydraulic  engineers  in  the  land  have  disclosed  the  superi- 
ority of  mind  over  matter,  in  capturing  the  resistless  current  of  this 
magnificent  river  and  impressing  it  at  pleasure  into  the  service  of 
civilization  and  the  useful  arts.  The  existence  of  the  splendid 
system  of  waterfalls,  such  as  this  alone,  of  all  the  streams  in  the 
land,  can  boast,  has  cited  around  them  mechanics,  artisans,  and 
operatives  of  every  degree  of  skill  and  ability,  and  the  result  is  seen 
in  the  steady  and  successful  operation  of  more  than  one  hundred 
monster  cotton  and  woollen  mills,  whose  massive  walls,  towering  on 
the  "airline"  towards  the  clouds,*  enclose  gems  of  humanity  as 
well  as  of  intricate,  delicate,  and  almost  intelligent  machinery ;  in 
the  numerous  machanic  shops  the  ring  and  pleasant  hum  of  which  is 
the  cheerful  and  melodious  diapason  of  prosperity ;  in  the  springing 
up  with  unparalleled  rapidity  of  fine  towns  and  beautiful  cities 
thronged  with  industrious  and  intelligent  populations.  Anterior  to 
the  manufacturing  epoch  it  has  been  seen  that  though  the  Merrimack 
River  was  the  same  lovely  stream  of  bright,  sparkling  water,  and 
contained  the  same  noble  falls,  and  was  surrounded  with  a  popula- 
tion sturdy  and  indomitable,  which,  sparse  and  devoted  to  the  pleasant 
and  profitable  pursuits  of  peace  as  it  was,  yet  contributed  its  full  share 
to  the  independence,  intellect,  and  character  of  the  nation.  Looking 
still  further  back,  to  the  aboriginal  period,  the  Merrimack  and  the 
territory  which  it  drains  is  replete  with  interest,  different  in  kind  to 
be  sure,  but  equaland  in  some  respects  surpassing  that  which  invests 
it  now,  and  while  we  condemn  the  cruelties  practised  towards  the  red 
man  and  by  him,  and  the  wrong  and  injustice  perpetrated  upon  him 
in  the  name  of  civilization  and  under  the  sometimes  pliant  banner 
of  Christianity,  it  may  be  proper  even  in  the  plentitude  of  intelli- 
gence, enlightenment,  and  power,  to  bestow  some  thought  on  his 
checkered  history  that  we  may  profit  by  his  example  and  if  possible 
avoid  his  follies,  his  misfortunes,  and  his  deplorable  fate.  It  has 
been  said  that  the  result  of  the  practical  operation  of  what  is  not 
inaptly  called  the  philosophy  of  fate  is  in  direct  inverse  ratio  to 
39 


306  THE  MEEEIMACK  EIVEE; 

rational  probabilities ;  thus,  a  man  may  fail  to  obtain  that  which  he 
merits,  while  another  may  fail  to  merit  that  which  he  obtains  ;  and 
so  also  with  a  community,  intelligence  may  be  its  corner-stone,  good 
government,  the  arts  and  sciences,  industry  and  thrift  may  give  the 
structure  strength,  beauty,  and  durability,  power  may  be  the  key- 
stone, and  apparent  permanence  one  of  its  chief  elements  ;  but  who 
shall  say  when  a  race,  mentally,  morally,  or  physically  superior 
shall  appear,  and  prostrating  all  these  emblems  of  stability,  might, 
and  perpetuity,  efiect  a  change  as  radical  and  complete,  perhaps  as 
beneficent,  as  that  which  has  occurred  in  the  comparatively  brief 
period  of  two  hundred  years  past.  But  though  races  of  men  may 
flourish  for  a  season  and  disappear,  others  more  or  less  worthy  assum- 
ing their  places  in  turn,  the  Merrimack  River  and  its  grand  sur- 
roundings can  never  be  involved  in  these  vicissitudes.  The  grand 
convocation  of  majestic  mountains  which  surround  its  source  are  the 
fitting  emblems  of  eternal  duration  and  nothing  but  such  terrific 
convulsions  of  nature  as  would  produce  a  universal  chaos  could 
move  them  from  their  firm  bases,  or  mar  the  unequalled  natural 
beauty  of  their  scenery,  or  destroy  the  wonderful  features  which  give 
them  a  world-wide  fame.  The  Merrimack  itself,  enduring  as  these 
crystal  hills  which  give  it  birth,  will  also,  through  all  the  changing 
scenes  of  this  world,  still  roll  on,  a  feature  of  great  beauty  to  the 
land,  and  a  source  of  perpetual  and  untold  wealth,  convenience,  and 
usefulness  to  the  people.  The  Merrimack  River  will  go  on  forever, 
leaping  from  the  great  mountains,  where  it  has  its  origin,  in  spark- 
ling cascades,  meandering  through  long,  shaded  avenues  of  perennial 
forests,  winding  its  tortuous  course  around  the  bases  of  eternal  hills, 
a  robust,  rapid  river ;  fretting  its  banks  through  extensive  sections 
of  cleared  and  cultivated  fields,  and  rich  alluvial  intervals,  tumbling 
over  grand  falls  with  a  mighty  roar,  and  sweeping  through  the  low- 
lands until  in  the  bosom  of  the  great  deep  it  finds  repose.  In  ages 
yet  to  come,  when  other  hands  shall  direct  its  power  in  the  artificial 
channels  of  usefulness  to  mankind,  other  eyes  shall  see  its  marvellous 
beauty,  and  other  tongues  relate  its  story.  In  another  age  new 
and  improved  monuments  may  be  reared,  still  testifying  to  its  service 
and  its  power,  long  after  the  chains  which  now  bind  it  to  the  wheels 
of  monster  cotton  mills  are  rusted  and  decayed  and  become  relics 
of  the  past,  or  the  antiquarian  may  rescue  from  the  debris  of  its 


ITS  SOURCE  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.  307 

present  glory  vestiges  of  the  history  of  its  former,  but  fallen,  gran- 
deur. 

"  By  thirty  hills  I  hurry  down, 
Or  slip  between  the  ridges, 
By  twenty  thorps,  a  little  town 
And  half  a  hundred  bridges  —  " 

and  thus  singing  as  it  rolls  along  Tennyson's  beautiful  song  of 
the  brook,  —  by  the  eventful  history  of  this  most  historic  place, 
and  the  mystery  which  still  surrounds  an  aboriginal  and  most 
mysterious  race,  "  now  gone,  all  gone," — by  the  decline  and  fall  of  a 
wilderness  empire  and  its  reoccupation  by  another  race  and  color 
which,  under  the  ample  folds  of  the  broad,  bright  banner  of  civiliza- 
tion, has  uprooted  Paganism,  and  disseminated  a  progressive  en- 
lightened and  Christian  faith, — by  the  going  and  the  coming  of  races 
of  men  which  it  has  witnessed,  —  the  Merrimack  gives  peculiar  em- 
phasis and  force  to  the  declaration,  — 

"  For  men  may  come  and  men  may  go, 
But  I  go  on  forever." 


THE 


Life  of  George  Peabody: 

CONTAINING    A    RECORD    OF    THOSE    PRINCELY    ACTS    OF    BENEVOLENCE 

ENTITLE  HIM  TO  THE  GRATITUDE  AND  ESTEEM  OF  THE  FRIENDS  Or 

EDUCATION  AND  OF  THE  DESTITUTE,  BOTH  IN   AMERICA, 

THE  LAND  OF  HIS  BIRTH,  AND  ENGLAND, 

THE  PLACE  OF  HIS  DEATH. 

BY  PHEBE  A.    HANAFORD, 
Member  of  the  Essex  Institute,  and  author  of  "  Life  of  Lincoln,"  $o, 

WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION  BY   DR.  JOSEPH   H.  HANAFORi 


The  above,  copied  from  the  titlepage  of  the  book,  fully  explains  the  work, 
the  record  of  such  a  life  will  be  Instructive  and  interesting,  no  one  will  deny. 
HANAFORD'S  ability  to  perform  the  task,  no  one  will  question.     She  was   , 
known  for  some  years  as  the  editor  of  "  The  Ladies'  Repository."    Her  experience 
as  a  writer  and  poetess  is  large;  and,  being  a  member  of  the  Essex  Institute  (an 
association  that  shared  largely  the  munificence  of  Mr.  PEABODY),  her  facilities 
are  ample. 

I  need  not  enlarge  upon  the  desirableness  of  possessing  such  a  work.  As  Amer- 
ican citizens,  we  are  proud  of  the  name  of  GEORGE  PEABODY.  And,  to  place  the 
book  within  reach  of  the  millions,  I  have  published  it  in  style  and  price  suited  to 
the  times. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  present  a  long  list  of  testimonials :  a  few  will  indicate  the 
universal  favor  with  which  the  work  is  received :  — 

"  The  subject  is  a  most  interesting  one ;  and  the  authoress  has  made  good  use  of 
the  most  abundant  material  at  hand."  —  Boston  Traveller. 

"  Mrs.  Hanaford  has  had  ample  facilities  for  preparing  this  work ;  and  her  literary 
abilities  are  widely  known.  She  has  succeeded  in  making  a  readable,  accurate,  and 
very  desirable  book."  —  Boston  Post. 

"  It  is  a  book  intended  for  circulation  among  the  masses;  and  Mrs.  Hanaford  has 
written  it  in  a  very  pleasant  and  attractive  style."  —  Boston  Journal. 

"  Every  young  man  should  have  a  copy,  and  make  his  character  a  model  for  his 
future  life."  —  Syracuse  Standard. 

"Mrs.  Hanaford,  by  her  pleasant  and  welcome  style,  has  made  a  book  peculiarly 
attractive  to  the  masses ;  and  everybody  will  be  gratified  and  benefited  by  reading 
it." —  Northern  Advocate. 

"  I  am  quite  delighted  with  the  neat  style  of  the  books,  which  came  to  hand  yes« 
terday." — Mrs.  E.  C.  Smithson,  New  Haven. 

I  am  constantly  receiving  similar  notices  of  the  press,  and  expressions  of  satis- 
faction from  my  agents  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 

TEKMS  OF  PUBLICATION.  —  The  work  contains  308  pages,  12mo ;  illus- 
trated by  a  fine  Steel  Portrait  of  Mr.  PEABODY,  and  six  other  illustrations,  including 
his  birthplace.  Sold  only  by  subscription. 

:F  IR,  i  o  IE  s. 

Substantially  bound  in  Muslin,  $1.50.    In  Arabesque  Morocco,  $2,00. 

B.  B.  RUSSELL,  Publisher, 

55  Cornhill,  Boston. 


"LIFE  OF  NAPOLEON  III, 

EMPEROR    OF   THE    FRENCH. 

Embracing  a  Record  of  nearly  all  the  Important  National  Event*  which  have 
occurred  in  Europe  during  the  last  half  of  a  century. 

BT 
JOHN    8.    C.    ABBOTT, 

Author  of  " History  of  Napoleon  I,"    "French   Revolution,"   "Civil  War  i» 
America,"  "  Lives  of  the  Presidents,"  &c.,  &c. 


"  This  work  well  becomes,  In  Its  size  and  mechanical  execution,  the  subjects  of 
•which  It  treats.  France  of  all  countries,  the  French  of  all  nations,  and  Louis 
Napoleon  of  all  rulers,  furnish  the  most  interesting  materials  for  a  readable  book. 
Those  who  know  with  what  romance  Mr.  Abbott's  pen  invests  every  subject  of 
which  it  treats  may  well  expect,  in  this  royal  octavo,  interest  as  well  as  information. 
Nor  will  they  be  disappointed.  The  author  has  had  access  to  all  the  facilities  needed 
for  the  full  development  of  his  subject.  From  the  first  Napoleon,  the  annals  of 
France  have  been  full  of  thrilling  interest.  The  present  emperor  has  become  in  six- 
teen years  the  leading  spirit  in  modern  history,  and  is  a  marvel  in  himself.  Mr. 
Abbott  has  been  careful  to  give  documentary  proof  for  his  statements ;  and  those 
that  find  fault  with  his  details  must  blame  history,  and  not  the  historian."  —  Port- 
land (Me.}  Christian  Mirror. 


The  book  Is  a  royal  octavo  of  about  700  pages ;  finely  illustrated  by  nine  pure 
fine  steel  engravings,  executed  In  Paris  expressly  for  the  work;  and  sold  only  by 
subscription. 

For  terms,  address 

B.  B.  RUSSELL,   Publisher, 

55  Cornhill,  Boston,  Mass. 


A  Book  for  every  Household  in  America, 


LIVES    OF  THE    PRESIDENTS 


OP    THE    UNITED    STATES, 

• 
ITrom  "WasMngton  to  th.e  IPresent    Time. 

ILLUSTRATED,  AND  COMPLETE  IN  ONE  VOLUME. 
BT 

JOHN    S.    C.    ABBOTT, 

Author  of  the  "Civil  War  In  America,"  "Life  of  Napoleon,"  "History  of  the 
French  Revolution,"  "  Mother  at  Home,"  &c.,  &c. 


"  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  speak  well  of  a  book  written  to  carry  out  a  practical 
Idea,  and  by  one  of  the  most  practical  writers  in  America.  There  is  not  a  politician, 
a  newspaper  editor,  or  intelligent  citizen,  who  will  not  find  this  work  of  vast  im- 
portance to  him,  saving  much  labor,  and  therefore  time.  It  is  not  only  a  resume  of 
the  leading  events  in  the  characters  of  those  who  have  presided  over  the  Govern- 
ment, but  is  accompanied  by  philosophical  reflections,  and  by  what  we  are  pleased 
to  notice, — the  frank  objections  of  the  biographer  to  such  errors  as  may  have  been 
committed  by  these  Chief  Magistrates.  It  is  a  wonder  that  the  idea  of  such  a  book 
has  not  before  been  carried  out;  and  we  are  glad  that  it  has  fallen  into  the  hands  of 
a  gentleman  whose  experience,  discrimination,  and  intelligence  qualify  him  to  give 
as  a  complete  and  standard  work  of  reference."  —  Washington  Chronicle. 


The  work  is  an  octavo  volume  of  520  pages,  handsomely  illustrated  by  eight  steel- 
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vassing Agents. 

For  terms,  address 

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B.  B.  RUSSELL'S 

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"From  Shore  to  Shore,"  an  allegorical  engraving,  suggestive  of  life'a 
journey  from  childhood  to  old  age. 

In  Childhood's  hour,  with  careless  joy 

Upon  the  stream  we  glide ; 
With  Youth's  bright  hopes,  we  gayly  speed 

To  reach  the  other  side. 

Manhood  Ipoks  forth  with  careful  glance; 

Time  steady  plies  the  oar, 
While  Old  Age  calmly  waits  to  hear 

The  keel  upon  the  shore. 

Suited  to  frame  16x20f .    Price  $2.00. 

"Nazareth"  (just  issued);  very  beautifully  representing  Joseph,  Mary,  and 
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"  The  Babe  of  Bethlehem,"  the  best  representation  of  the  nativity  of  OHT 
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figures  consist  of  Joseph,  Mary,  and  the  Babe ;  the  shepherds,  who  have  bro  aglit  a 
•acrificial  lamb;  and  a  mother  and  child  as  interested  spectators :  the  whole  making 
a  fine  picture,  and  an  excellent  match  for  the  above  or  "  Christ  blessing  Little  Chil- 
dren." Suited  to  frame  16x203.  Pries*  $2.00. 

"  American  Methodism,"  the  only  historical  picture  published  to  commemo- 
rate American  Methodism.  It  contains  pictures  of  all  the  Bishops,  with  noted  his- 
torical scenes.  Suited  to  frame  16x20|.  Price  $2.00. 

Either  of  the  above  sent,  postpaid,  on  receipt  of  the  price.    Address 

B.  B.  RUSSELL,  Publisher, 

55  Cornhill,  Boston.  Mass. 


THE  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Santa  Barbara 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW. 


SANTA  BARBARA 


o     WINHOJI1V3    4O     O 


THE  UNIVERSITY    o 


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